Ruling Congress Party’s senior leader Rahul Gandhi has blamed the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) for looking at some other religions, languages and communities as lower than others and said that this is what the fight in India is about and not politics.
Rahul Gandhi, who is also the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, was speaking to several hundred Indian Americans residing in Herndon, a suburb of Washington DC, on Monday_LIVE.
The fight is not about why you have to understand the nature of the fight. The fight is not about politics. That is superficial.” Mr. Gandhi said, directing his words to one of the Sikh members in the front rows about to dress his head to ask his name: “What is your name, brother with a turban where I come from.” Contents of the article. Patrick Sawer.
About the concerns if a Sikh will be allow to paint on a turban or a kada in India. Or if he will be able to freely visit a Gurdwara. The fight is about injustice. And not only for him but for every religion,” of all who wear a turban in India thus spoke the Congress member.
Mr. Gandhi is on a four-day trip to the United States. His first visit was in Dallas and it started on Saturday (7 September). He landed in Washington DC on Monday.
Hitting out at the RSS over its ideology and Indian ethos, he said, “What the RSS is calling as a narrative is some states zealously thinking that this state is greater and above other states. Some tongues are greater than others, some are smaller. And Some religions are greater than others. Some communities are greater than other communities. That is what this struggle is about.” “…that is the ideology of the RSS. Tamil, Marathi, Bengali, Manipuri. All these languages are Languages battered by the war. That is what the fight is about, reasonable as it is, the resolution of these matters ultimately takes place at the ballot box – Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha.
“But the fight is about what type of India we are going to have,” he said.
He maintained that it does not matter of which region one is from, “all of you have your history, all of you have your tradition, all of you have your language, and each one of them is equal and as important as any other.” Mr. Gandhi also maintained that the BJP has no ‘grasp’ of India.
“India is also known as a union of States. The same is true in the Constitution. More precisely, it reads, ‘India that is Bharat is a union of State. This connotes it is a union of language, customs, history etc,’ he said.
“It is said that this is not a union. These are different entities, these are separate to. One of this is a very significant Enclave, very very significant and whose HQ is in Nagpur,” he said with a reference to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.
Speaking to the diaspora, Mr. Gandhi asked them ‘ambassadors of India.’ “You are the connecting link between these two great unions of the States. You have made us very proud”, he said.
“We appreciate the hardships and challenges that you have have to face. It’s not simple. However, when you came here, you came with humility, you came with respect and you come with affection,” he said.
He argued that that in a BJP system, one cannot wear dual hats. “One cannot be India and be America at the same time. That is what the fight is about. That is what we are trying to do in India” he said.
“Do not encourage hatred and instead encourage love. Do not be pompous, be modest instead. Demean others? I do not. I respect people, respect traditions, respect religions, respect languages, and respect communities,” Gandhi proclaimed.
