Opposition leaders on Thursday dismissed the President’s address to the joint sitting of Parliament as a “script given by the government” that was “full of lies” and also castigated the government over the repeated mention of the 1975 Emergency.They said there is an “undeclared emergency” in the country and the Constitution is being attacked under the Modi government.
In her address, President Droupadi Murmu described the imposition of Emergency in 1975 as the “biggest and darkest chapter” of a direct attack on the Constitution and said the country emerged victorious over unconstitutional forces.
Speaking to reporters after the President’s address, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav punched holes in the government’s claim of India being the fifth-largest economy in the world.
“The story that is being told about India becoming the fifth-largest economy… has it made our farmers prosperous? If we are the fifth-largest economy, then why are so many youths unemployed? Why is there a scheme like Agniveer? Why can’t price rise be controlled?” he said.
On the government’s claims about investment, the SP chief said, “We would have witnessed more growth if there was investment. The growth of some individuals cannot enable national growth. It can improve our numbers but what is there in it for farmers, the poor and those who have been most exploited.”
