United Opposition challenges PM Modi’s ‘idea of India’

New Delhi: A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Independence Day speech, a united Opposition on Thursday challenged his “idea of India” and said that they would work to preserve the “composite” culture of the country.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi who led the attack on the Modi government, hit out at the dispensation on the contentious Rafale deal.

Mr Gandhi claimed that the vision BJP and Congress had for India were different. While BJP viewed India as a golden bird to make money, the Congress viewed it as a river, which can accept all views.

“Today while they are busy in making that cage, we will try to stop them from making it,” he said speaking at the sixth edition of the ‘Sanjhi Virasat Bachao Sammelan’ (Save composite culture convention), a platform of more than 15 Opposition parties.

The Congress president further said: the Congress did not want a “BJP mukt Bharat” nor did they want to destroy the BJP but they wanted to tell them that “our ideology is stronger and we will defeat their ideology”.

The programme was attended by leaders of all political parties, including former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, CPI(M) Sitaram Yechury, SP’s Dharmendra Yadav, Trinamul Congress leader Chandan Mitra, CPI’s G. Sudhakar Reddy and DMK’s Tiruchi Siva.

The “Sanjhi Virasat” series is being organised by rebel JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav.

CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury said the aim of the Sanjhi Virasat Bachao Sammelan was to save the democracy. The BJP-led government, he alleged, was misusing governance and had ruined the life of the common man with demonetisation and then former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah attacked at the government saying, they would not tolerate any religious discrimination in the country. “Today the fight is to live in dignity”.