Congress MP and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi is on a US tour these days. He gave an interview in Washington DC on Tuesday. During this, he fiercely attacked the BJP-RSS. He also talked about relations with Bangladesh. At the same time, he said a lot about Indian voters and the weak democracy of the Chinese occupation. He even responded to America's interference.
'We contested the elections by freezing our bank accounts'
He said, 'It is not enough to say that the Indian voter is flexible and knowledgeable because the Indian voter gets information through various structures. So if we do not have equal opportunities, the voter can be very knowledgeable and flexible. It does not matter. We contested the elections by freezing our bank accounts. Now I do not know of any democracy where this has happened. You can have a flexible voter. You still need to campaign. You still need to talk. You still need to hold meetings.'
He further said, 'There are more than 20 cases against me. I am the only person in Indian history who has been sentenced to jail for defamation. We have a Chief Minister who is in jail right now. So I mean one way of saying it is that yes, the Indian voter is very resilient and you know they stand like a rock. However, the Indian voter needs an architecture to work, which is not there.'
Indian democracy under attack: Rahul Gandhi
The Congress MP said, 'I can tell you that for the last 10 years, Indian democracy was almost finished. But it is coming back again. It is fighting back but it is finished. I have seen the Maharashtra government being taken away from us. I have seen it with my own eyes. I saw that our MLAs were bought and lured. Suddenly they became BJP MLAs. So Indian democracy is under attack, weakened very badly and now it is fighting back and I believe it will fight back.'
When asked if the Congress party believes that the caste census is a counterweight to the BJP-RSS Hindutva politics, and whether the acceptance of the way forward by the Congress is a revival of Mandal-Kamandal, Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul said, "No, I don't think we see it as linked to the policies of the BJP. The Congress party has always, even before Independence, fought for the idea that India should be a fair country, the idea that all Indian citizens should be treated equally. We strongly feel that there is a very deep problem of participation and we are going to address that problem. I don't see it as a Mandal versus Kamandal issue. What we are saying is different, different from just the idea of reservation. What we are saying is that we first want a comprehensive understanding of what is going on and then we are going to implement a number of policies to fix it, one of which is reservation. Yesterday someone misquoted me that I am against reservation. We are going to increase the reservation to more than 50 percent." We will never accept that Pakistan...
On India-Pakistan relations, Rahul Gandhi said, 'Both countries are retreating because of Pakistan promoting terrorism in our country. We will never accept that Pakistan is promoting terrorism in our country. This will not be accepted and as long as they keep doing this, problems will remain.'
What did the Congress MP say about India's future?
When asked what your long-term vision for India's future is and what steps you thinks can take India forward, the Congress leader said, 'I think it is more than my vision, it is what is the vision of the Indian people? I think this is more important. It is more important to understand this and bring it together. I have my own views, but I think what India wants and what India thinks, a vision should emerge from here. I see this as a great opportunity for India to rethink how we progress in a democratic environment in the 21st century.
RSS and BJP divide India: Opposition leader in Lok Sabha
He said, 'I think there is a lot of energy locked up in India. So India should start respecting the skills of ordinary Indians. Two businessmen are controlling everything in India and this is harming India's productivity a lot. If I could make India a little more fair, I would say I would have succeeded. Another level where I think we have succeeded is fighting the idea of anger and hatred. The fact that our opposition RSS and BJP divide India and one religion fights with other religions. We introduced the word 'prem' through the Bharat Jodo Yatra. I think it is very powerful. The pressure we put on the Prime Minister is unprecedented, and bringing out the Constitution worked well. And as we headed into the elections, suddenly we were looking at the Prime Minister and we could see that the pressure was starting. Then at some point, he simply said that I (PM) am non-organic. I talk directly to God. That way the illusion was broken in a way.'
'PM calling himself God'
He further said, 'Here in the 21st century the Prime Minister of a modern country is telling people that I talk to God. I am different from everyone else. You are biological people. I am a non-biological person and I have a direct connection with God. We knew that we had defeated the Prime Minister. We knew that we had defeated the Prime Minister. Then the beautiful thing was that when he went to the Lok Sabha and took oath, the first thing he did was take the Constitution of India and put it on his head. It was an interesting paradox. On the one hand, he is destroying the Constitution, he is attacking the democratic structure. But the Indian people forced him to put it on his head. This is India's vision. This is Indian democracy.'
He said this when America put pressure.
When asked, some observers say that America should put more pressure on Prime Minister Modi, but others say that external pressure makes little difference. On what is your view and what do you think should be the US's stance towards India today, Rahul Gandhi said, 'The fight for democracy in India is the fight of Indians only. It has nothing to do with anyone else. This is our country and we will take care of it. We will fight. We will ensure that democracy is protected. However, it is important to understand that Indian democracy is much more than any normal democracy because of its size and if you are talking about the democratic vision of the world, then Indian democracy has a big place. So I think it is important that the world sees Indian democracy as an asset not only for India but for the whole of India. It is not my right to advise the US on how they should deal with Prime Minister Modi.'
Has PM Modi handled the China competition?
Asked if he thinks PM Modi has handled the US-China competition, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said, "Well, if you call having Chinese troops in 4,000 square kilometers of our territory handling something well, we may have had Chinese troops occupying Delhi-sized land in Ladakh. I think that's a disaster. How would the US react if a neighbor occupied 4000 square kilometers of your territory? Will any president be able to get away with saying he has handled it well? So I don't think PM Modi has handled China well at all. I think there is no reason for Chinese troops to be sitting in our territory."
'Responsibility of the government of India and Bangladesh'
Asked if Bangladesh was a focus of discussions in meetings with MPs at Capitol Hill, the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha said, "We raised it and they also spoke to us. Look we are against any kind of violence and we want it to stop. It is the responsibility of the Bangladeshi government to stop this as soon as possible. From our side, it is the responsibility of our government to put pressure so that the violence stops.'
We have old relations with Bangladesh: Rahul Gandhi.
He said, 'We have old relations with Bangladesh. I think India has concerns about extremist elements in Bangladesh and we share some of those concerns. However, I am confident that things will stabilize in Bangladesh and we will be able to maintain relations with the current government or any other government.'
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