Launching a scathing attack on the Narendra Modi-led government, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said that the Bharatiya Janata Party wants India to be silent.
Speaking at the Indian Journalists' Association (IJA) in London, Gandhi said that the recent tax survey action against the BBC was an example of the "suppression of voice across the country" and said that this is why he undertook the 4,000 km long 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' as an expression of voice against the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's attempt to silence the country.
He added that the structures of Indian democracy are under "brutal attack".
"The reason the yatra became necessary as the structures of our democracy are under brutal attack. The media, the institutional frameworks, judiciary, Parliament is all under attack and we were finding it very difficult to put the voice of the people through the normal channels," Gandhi said while speaking at the India Insights event.
"The BBC has found out about it now, but it has been going on in India for the last nine years non-stop. Everybody knows that journalists are intimidated, they are attacked and threatened. The journalists who toe the line of the government are rewarded. So, it's part of a pattern and I wouldn't expect anything different. If the BBC stops writing against the government, everything will go back to normal. All the cases will disappear," he said.
He added that there are five key aspects of the alleged attack on Indian democracy -- capture and control of media and judiciary; surveillance and intimidation; coercion by federal law enforcement agencies; attacks on minorities, Dalits, and tribals; and shutting down of dissent.
"The BJP wants India to be silent. They want it to be quiet because they want to be able to take what is India's and give it to their close friends. That's the idea, to distract the population and then hand over India's wealth to three, four, five people," he said.
When he was asked about the Congress and Opposition plans for the next general election, Gandhi said the battle at the polls is not just between political parties but also against institutions as there is "no level playing field" in Indian politics.
Reacting to the comments, Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju said attempts were being made to tell the world that the Indian judiciary and democracy were in crisis.
On Saturday, Rijiju said: "It is not a good sign when the judiciary is subjected to some kind of criticism. The judiciary must be far away from public criticism," he said, adding that the problem lies with the same group, which wants to force the judiciary to play the role of the opposition party.
Noting that it was unfortunate that judges were being abused on social media, Rijiju said this was happening as some people were not aware of how the Indian judiciary functions.