Bhopal, Mar 31 (PTI) MLAs from Opposition Congress on Tuesday attacked Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh over his address at a conference for young legislators here, as they accused him of misusing the platform by praising the Modi government instead of guiding them.

They expressed disappointment over his speech and dubbed it to be a “marketing agenda” for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The two-day conference of young MLAs from three states of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (India Region 6) – Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Rajasthan – was inaugurated on Monday, while Harivansh was the chief guest at the concluding ceremony.

During his address, Harivansh talked about the changes that took place in India since 2014, and how the country took a long time to achieve the dream of a ‘Developed India’.

Referring to the current global scenario, he said that while many countries are facing a lockdown-like situation, due to India’s current political leadership being strong and implementing forward-looking policies, the situation in the country is under control.

Talking about the pre-2014 economic condition in India, he said there was a time when world economists said the country could not grow more than two to three per cent and also dubbed it as a “Hindu growth rate”.

Harivansh said that by becoming one of the world’s fastest-growing economies in a democratic system, India has today proven that with right policies and determination, the country can progress rapidly.

After the conference concluded, leaders of opposition parties who attended it, criticised Harivansh over his address and accused him of playing politics.

Mahesh Parmar, Congress MLA from the Tarana assembly constituency in Ujjain district of Madhya Pradesh, alleged that Harivansh used the platform to “praise” the Narendra Modi-led government, and said it should be “condemned”.

Talking to PTI, he said, “Listening to the Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman’s speech, it seemed as if he was born after 2014 and nothing happened in the country before that.” From the country’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru to Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and Manmohan Singh, everyone contributed to the nation’s development, but he did not mention any of them in the speech, Parmar said.

“…I condemn this. This does not suit a person holding the post of Deputy Chairman,” he said, adding that platforms like these should not be politicised.

Thawarchand Damor, MLA of the Bharat Adivasi Party (BAP) from Dhariyawad in Rajasthan’s Pratapgarh district, said in a conversation with PTI that this was a youth conference and its main theme was “youth participation in democracy” and the contribution of youth to a developed India, but the Deputy Chairman turned it into a platform to “praise” Modi.

“If this was to be done, a public meeting could have been organised. Speak as much as you want in this public meeting. But today’s platform was not meant for that. Young MLAs from three states with different ideologies attended the conference. The message should have been how we can all work together to take the nation forward, but that didn’t happen,” he said.

“His entire speech was written and presented in a well-planned manner,” Damor added.

Dr Shikha Meel Barala, Congress MLA from Chomu assembly constituency in Rajasthan’s Jaipur district, said she was disappointed with Harivansh’s speech.

“It felt as if this was a Governor’s address, and he was praising the government,” she said.

He mentioned how many AIIMS, medical colleges, and airports existed before 2014, while avoiding the main topic of the conference, Barala alleged.

“I found his address to be a marketing agenda for the BJP. It was very disappointing,” she added.

She said all the young MLAs expected Harivansh to impart some good lessons to them, but it turned out to be the opposite. PTI BNS MAS NP