Congress Accuses Government Of Trying To Curb People's Freedom Of Independent Thinking

The Congress today said after the notes ban, the Narendra Modi government was now seeking to ban the freedom to think independently. Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said this after the virulent attack on 20-year-oldGurmehar Kaur, who launched a tirade against ABVP. The country's culture and tradition is not to accept violent means to settle scores, he added.

Attacking the BJP, Mr Surjewala said the party that swore by surgical strikes and did not lose a single opportunity to claim the electoral credit for the martyrdom of our soldiers, went to the extent of supporting rape threats to a 20-year-old student, who called the bluff of ABVP goondaism.

The Congress leader said the universities and the colleges would never accept the culture of beating up of teachers, using violent means against fellow students as a means to settle scores and uttering the language of threat and abuse to everyone who disagrees with BJP and ABVP.

"This is neither India's culture nor our tradition," he told reporters.

Alleging that after notes ban, the Narendra Modi dispensation now wants to impose a ban on freedom to think independently, Mr Surjewala said "Now it is 'zuban-bandi' and 'soch-bandi', a ban on speech and thoughts.

"You have no right to think, you have no right to speak and you have no right to dissent. I don't know how far they say you have no right to live except in accordance with the norms set up by this government. Perhaps let's hope that the day will not come," he said.

The Congress leader said it was important to note that what happened after a 20-year-old girl dared to say that she was opposed to the 'goondagardi' of the ABVP.

She is threatened with rape, and is abused and trolled in choicest of words on social media by blind 'bhakts' of a certain section of populace and the ABVP friends.

"Why? Can somebody not say that beating up your teachers and beating up fellow students is contrary to the culture of this country. Can somebody not say that goondaism will not be tolerated? Would you be raped for saying that the ABVP goons should stop their holliganism from campuses? This is not the first time that this is happeneing," he claimed.

Recalling how Rohit Vemula was allegedly driven to commit suicide because he was a dalit, the Congress leader alleged that he was hounded and persecuted by the ABVP and the central university vice-chancellor, who was felicitated by none other than the Prime Minister.

He also alleged that a woman president of Allahabad university students' union was hounded and abused and same thing happened in Jadhavpur University.

"You will be persecuted, hounded or trolled, if you are either a woman or you are a dalit or a student coming from a poor background, or if you are a student who has a mind and a voice of his own. I do not think this is the culture of this country. It goes against the Ganga-Yamuni tehzib of India," he added.