Hyderabad: BJP MP Etela Rajender on Thursday accused the Congress of hypocrisy, saying the party that once trampled constitutional rights is now posturing as its defender.
Addressing a public meeting in Khammam held to mark opposition to the Emergency imposed in 1975, Rajender said the Congress subjected people to severe repression during its decades in power, especially under former prime minister Indira Gandhi.
He said the Emergency period was marked by a climate of fear where citizens didn’t know if they would be jailed or killed. He questioned whether the Congress, having ruled India for over 50 years, was now in any position to lecture on constitutional values.
Rajender also criticised the ruling Congress in Telangana, asking whether the party truly understood the Constitution’s spirit. He alleged the Congress forced Dr B.R. Ambedkar out of the cabinet and defeated him in elections, yet now invokes his name insincerely.
He said this contradiction resembled “jinns reciting the Vedas.” The public, he said, must recognise this duplicity.
He also pointed to widening economic inequality, saying the poor remained marginalised even after 75 years of independence. Rajender argued that persistent social disparities made discussions on reservation categories necessary.
Targeting Congress’s record in Telugu states, he said the party ruled for 40 years without ever appointing a tribal or OBC chief minister, except for Neelam Sanjiva Reddy, an SC leader who held the post briefly.
He questioned the credibility of the party’s recent BC outreach, saying its words and actions do not match.
