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India's main opposition Congress chief slams gov't over religious intolerance

Xinhua, November 26, 2015 Adjust font size:

India's main opposition Congress party's chief Sonia Gandhi Thursday came down heavily on the country's government over the growing religious intolerance, saying that the ideals of the Constitution "are under threat."

"There is a threat to the principles of the Constitution these days... What we have seen in the past few months, is total violation of the values of the Constitution," Gandhi said in the Lok Sabha (the lower house of the Indian Parliament) on the first day of the Winter Session.

"No matter how good the Constitution is, if the people who implement it are bad, then the Constitution will also turn out bad. And no matter how bad the Constitution is, if the people who implement it are good, it will turn out to be good," she added.

Local TV channels showed Gandhi smiling at the treasury benches -- where the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party parliamentarians seat -- immediately after making her scathing remarks against the government, and added: "This is for you and us."

The Congress president also recalled the role of the party in the country's freedom struggle and the Constitution. "The people who don't have faith in the Constitution, the people who didn't play any role in framing the Constitution, are swearing by the Constitution," she said.

The Indian government has been facing massive criticism over the increasing religious intolerance in the country, with the controversy growing with each passing day. Enditem