Bharat Jodo, democracy and economy: Congress leader offers a different vision of emerging India
With an eye on next year’s Lok Sabha elections, Congress leader says the Opposition in India was “pretty well united”
Our Bureau
San Francisco/Washington, DC
Launching a scathing attack at the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government in the Centre, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said that he had to launch ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ because all instruments of doing politics (connecting with people) were “being controlled” and the “whole India” walked with him during the mega foot march.
The Congress leader, who is on a 10-day tour to the US, was addressing the Indian diaspora at an event titled ‘Mohabbat ki Dukaan’ in San Francisco on Wednesday. Addressing a gathering there, Rahul Gandhi said, “Some months ago, we started a walk from Kanyakumari to Kashmir. While walking we realized that normal instruments for doing politics (connecting with people) were not working anymore. They were controlled by the BJP and RSS. People are threatened and agencies are used against them. In some way, it had become quite difficult to act politically. That is why we decided to walk from the southernmost tip of India to Srinagar.”
Taking a jibe at PM Modi, Rahul Gandhi said that some groups in India have the “disease” of being under the impression that they know everything. “In India, we grew up with people of different languages, different religions. And that is what is being attacked. The tradition in India, of people like Gandhi Ji and Guru Nanak Ji, has been that you should not be under the impression of knowing everything. It is a ‘disease’ that some groups of India think that they know everything. Even if they have a conversation with God, they might explain to him,” he said.
Further adding to his remark, the Congress leader said, “And of course, Prime Minister is one of them. If you make him sit with God, he would start explaining to him (God) how the universe works…and God would get confused about what I had created.”
“They (BJP) can speak to scientists and explain science to them. They can explain history to historians, warfare to the army and flying to the air force. But at the heart of it, they don’t know anything,” he lamented.
Rahul Gandhi also said that he was the first person to be given a “maximum sentence for defamation” and had never imagined something like him being disqualified from the Lok Sabha, could ever happen when he joined politics two decades ago. Referring to his disqualification from Lok Sabha as a Member of Parliament (MP), Rahul Gandhi said: “I don’t think when I joined politics in 2004, I ever imagined what I see going on in our country. It was way outside what I had ever imagined.”
Rahul Gandhi in March was disqualified as a member of the Lok Sabha after a Surat court sentenced him to two years imprisonment in a defamation case filed against him over his ‘Modi surname’ remark.
In his Stanford address, Gandhi said that opposition in India is struggling and the drama started months ago. “The drama started six months ago. We were struggling….The opposition is struggling in India. A huge financial dominance, institutional capture, struggling to fight the Democratic fight in our country. None of the systems were working,” said Rahul Gandhi.
“Democracy isn’t just about an opposition party. It’s about several institutions that support the opposition. Those institutions were either captured or were not playing the role they were supposed to play,” he added.
Amid efforts back home to galvanize the rival political forces against the BJP government at the Centre with an eye on next year’s Lok Sabha elections, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said the Opposition in India was “pretty well united”.
Putting forth his point of view on a range of issues during a conversation at the National Press Club in Washington DC, Rahul said his party was in touch with fellow Opposition forces. Responding to ANI’s question on Opposition unity, Rahul said his party was holding regular dialogue with all the Opposition parties, adding that “quite a lot of good work is happening” in that regard.
“The opposition is pretty well united, and it’s getting more & more united. We are having conversations with all the Opposition (parties). I think quite a lot of good work is happening there. It’s a complicated discussion because there are spaces where we are competing with the Opposition. So, a bit of give and take is required. But I am confident that it (a grand Opposition alliance against the BJP at the Centre) will happen,” Rahul said.
Weighing in on issues concerning national politics during an interaction with journalists at the National Press Club in Washington DC on Thursday, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi claimed that press freedom was under threat back home in India and the world could see the same.
Opening up on the issue during a free-wheeling conversation with scribes in the US capital, Rahul said press freedom is very critical for a functional democracy and one should be open to criticism. He alleged that there was a clampdown on the institutional framework, which enabled the national discourse. “There is definitely a weakening of press freedom in India. It is apparent in India and the rest of the world can see it too. Press freedom is very critical for a democracy. One should be open to criticism. There is a clampdown on the institutional framework that allowed India to talk and Indian people to negotiate. I view India as a negotiation between its people, between different cultures, languages and histories. Mahatma Gandhi set up the framework to enable that negotiation fairly and freely. That structure, which allows this negotiation, is coming under pressure,” Rahul said.
He alleged further that was a “definite capture of institutions and press” back home.
But in a rare endorsement of a position taken by the Union government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday backed the BJP’s stance on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, saying he would respond similarly to the issue.
Rahul made the remark while putting forth his view on how the Congress would assess India’s bilateral ties with Russia in light of the ongoing military conflict with Ukraine. He was fielding questions from journalists during a free-wheeling conversation at the National Press Club in Washington on Thursday.
Responding to a question, the Congress leader stressed the significance of India’s bilateral ties with Russia, which goes back decades.
“I would respond (to Russia) similarly to what the BJP did. We (Congress) would be responding in a similar way (to the Russia-Ukraine conflict). Because India has that sort of relationship with Russia and that can’t be denied. Our policy would be similar,” said Rahul.
