In a fresh attack on the Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre, Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) Chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday accused the ruling dispensation of persisting with the policy of dividing communities and spreading an atmosphere of fear and animosity.

Speaking at the Congress Parliamentary Party meeting here, Gandhi said, “We would have hoped that the Modi Government would draw the right lessons from their significant decline in the Lok Sabha elections. Instead, they are persisting with their policy of dividing communities and spreading an atmosphere of fear and animosity.”

“Look at how the rules have been suddenly changed to permit the bureaucracy to participate in the activities of the RSS. It calls itself a cultural organization but the whole world knows that it is the BJP’s political and ideological base,” she said.

Referring to the Union Budget recently presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Gandhi alleged that the farmers and the youth were totally ignored. “Over the last few days, many of you have very effectively brought out the Budget’s many inadequacies when it comes to addressing urgent economic and social challenges. Pressing demands of farmers and youth in particular, have been totally ignored. Allocations in a number of vital sectors have not done justice to the tasks required to be fulfilled,” she said.

Claiming that there has been widespread disappointment, the CPP chairperson said, “In spite of the prime minister, the finance minister and others to talk up the Budget and its so-called accomplishments. The Union government, especially its top leadership, continues to be self-delusional as crores of families across the country are devastated by mounting unemployment and price rise.”

Taking a jibe at the government on the long overdue census, she said, “It is clear that the government has no intention whatsoever to conduct the Census that was last due in 2021.” She said this would prevent us from having an up-to-date estimate of the population of the country, especially of the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs).

She said this (delay in the conduct of the census) also means that at least 12 crore of our citizens are denied the benefits of the National Food Security Act of 2013 – now “repackaged” as PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana.

Talking about education, Gandhi said, “Education has been among the worst casualties in the past years. Instead of taking the nation forward, the entire educational system is being shown up as flawed and manipulated.”

“The exposure of how competitive examinations have been allowed has destroyed the faith of lakhs of youth and dealt their future a body blow. The professional character and autonomy of organizations like the NCERT, UGC and even of Constitutional bodies like the UPSC has been all-but-destroyed,” she said.

Citing the law and order situation in Jammu and Kashmir, the CPP chairperson said, “Over the past few weeks, there have been at least eleven terror attacks in the Jammu region alone. There have been similar attacks in the valley as well. Security personnel and a large number of civilians have lost their lives. This makes a mockery of the claims being made by the Modi Government that all is well in Jammu and Kashmir.”

She said, “The situation in Manipur shows no sign of improvement. The prime minister travels the world over, but steadfastly refuses to go to the state and take the initiative to bring about normalcy.”

Referring to the upcoming Assembly elections in several states, including Haryana and Maharashtra, Gandhi said, “In a few months, elections will be held in four states. We must sustain the momentum and goodwill that had been generated for us in the Lok Sabha elections. We must not become complacent and over-confident. The ‘mahaul’ does favour us, but we have to work unitedly with a sense of purpose.”

“If we perform well, reflecting the trend that we witnessed in the Lok Sabha elections, national politics will undergo a transformation,” she added.

The CPP chairperson condoled the deaths in the landslides in Kerala’s Wayanad. She termed the scale of devastation staggering.