Former Union Minister P. Chidambaram on Sunday called upon all sections of society to develop revolutionary thoughts, shed fear and question the government’s ‘autocratic’ style of functioning.
In separate interactions with journalists in Tiruchi and Karaikudi, Mr. Chidambaram said the people, who gave the BJP a mandate to take the country on a path of development, were being forced to wage a dharma yudh, after the government destroyed the economy and triggered unrest in society.
“The BJP government has destroyed the economy, and the destruction is visible every day,” he said. On the one hand, there was social disharmony, and on the other, the economy had nosedived. This did not augur well for the country, he said.
However, he said he would not seek Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s resignation though the news outlet The Economist and many economists had described her as an incompetent manager and the Modi government as incompetent. The seven-month-old NDA-II government had betrayed the massive mandate it was given by the electorate. The government could not understand the magnitude of the crisis and was clueless on how to revive the economy, he said.
It was condemnable that the government viewed the voice of dissent as a crime. Those who differed with the government and questioned its wrong economic policies were dubbed anti-nationals, he said.
“A sense of fear has gripped all sections of society, and it is high time that the people shed that fear and develop revolutionary thoughts to question the government,” the former Union Minister said.
The government was planning to increase GST rates on various goods, which will hit all sections of society, particularly the poor and the middle class, Mr. Chidambaram said.
He appealed to the judiciary and other constitutional and empowered bodies to come forward to exercise their rights and speak loud and clear on various issues to protect and preserve democracy.
