Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday launched a fierce attack on the Modi government accusing it of “misusing every power”, drawing a sharp reaction from two union ministers who said her assessment was a “classic example of Modi hatred” and an “illusory” statement of the “highest improbity.”

In an Op-Ed piece for “The Hindu”, Gandhi also said that with elections approaching in several key states, her party will take its message directly to people and join hands with all like-minded parties to defend the Constitution.

Gandhi touched upon a range of issues in the opinion piece in which she also accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government of “systematically dismantling” all three pillars of India’s democracy — the legislature, the executive and the judiciary — with their actions demonstrating a “deep-rooted disdain for democracy and democratic accountability.”

Gandhi underlined that the next few months will be a crucial test for India’s democracy and said the country is at the crossroads, alleging that the Modi government is bent on “misusing every power”.

“The Congress party will make every effort to take its message directly to the people, as it did in the Bharat Jodo Yatra, and will join hands with all like-minded parties to defend the Constitution of India and its ideals.”

She said the Congress’ battle is for safeguarding the voice of people and it understands its solemn duty as the principal opposition party.

The former Congress chief added that her party is ready to work with all like-minded political parties to achieve this objective.

She also alleged that the prime minister “ignores” the rising tide of hatred and violence, egged on by BJP and RSS leaders, and has not once called for peace or harmony or acted to rein in the offenders, let alone bring them to justice.

“Religious festivals seem to have become occasions to intimidate and bully others — a far cry from when they were occasions for joy and celebration. Instead, there is intimidation and discrimination only on account of their religion, food, caste, gender or language.”

In a scathing attack on the prime minister, she said his statements either ignore the most pressing issues of the day or are “platitudes and verbal gymnastics” to distract from these matters.

The Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) chairperson said despite the prime minister’s best efforts, the people of the country cannot and will not be silenced.

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Law Minister Kiren Rijiju and Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan took to twitter to hit back at Gandhi over her article on democracy and independence of institutions.

“Smt Sonia Gandhi is lecturing about Democracy? Congress Party talking about independence of Judiciary is: An illusory statement of the highest improbity,” Rijiju tweeted.

Pradhan dubbed Gandhi’s remarks as a “classic example of Modi hatred, misplaced priorities and overestimation of relevance at the national level.”

“It is the Congress which is at the crossroads and not the nation. The days ahead are crucial, but for the grand old party which is on the verge of a political crisis,” he said.

In a series of tweets, he charged that from Rajasthan to Chhattisgarh and from Madhya Pradesh to Karnataka, the Congress must first take its message to its organisational apparatus which is withering due to lack of internal democracy as well as due to the coterie of sycophants.

“It is not the test of democracy but purely the test of Congress. Congress leadership must come out of their illusion and wake up to the ground reality – India’s democracy is flourishing, people know PM Modi’s intentions and that is why they believe and bless him,” Pradhan said.

Sharing Gandhi’s article, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said it was a “thought-provoking indictment” of the Modi government.

The Congress also shared the article from its official Twitter handle urging people to read the insightful piece of writing regarding what it alleged was “the government’s disdain for democracy and democratic accountability”.

At a press conference, Congress’ media department head Pawan Khera said the present day situation is as horrifying as described in that article.

“The clouds of danger that we had thought earlier were hovering over democracy, those clouds are now raining in full swing…the challenges that are there before the Opposition, the Congress understands the responsibility of those challenges and will always be ready to discharge that responsibility,” Khera said when asked about the article.

In the Op-Ed article, Gandhi said the people of India have learnt that when it comes to understanding the current situation, the prime minister’s actions speak far louder than his words.

“His statements — when he is not venting anger on the Opposition or blaming past leaders for today’s ills — either ignore the most pressing, vital issues of the day, or are platitudes and verbal gymnastics to gloss over or distract from these issues,” Gandhi alleged.

Modi’s actions, on the other hand, leave little to the imagination on the BJP-led government’s true intentions, she added.