Rahul Gandhi, the head of the Congress, criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in Paris on Sunday, claiming that their actions had “nothing Hindu” about them and that they were not “Hindu nationalists.”
Nothing Hindu About BJP
“I have read the Bhagavad Gita, the Upanishads, and other Hindu scriptures. And I can say that there is nothing Hindu about what the BJP does, there is absolutely nothing. I have not read anywhere, in no Hindu book, or heard from any learned Hindu person that you should terrorise, harm people who are weaker than you. So, this idea, this word, Hindu nationalists, this is a wrong word. They’re not Hindu nationalists.
They have nothing to do with Hinduism. They are out to get power at any cost, and they will do anything to get power… They want dominance of a few people and that is what they are about. There is nothing Hindu about them,” Gandhi said.
During a conversation with students at Science Po University in Paris, France, the former president of the Congress, who is currently on a seven-day tour of Europe, made these statements.
Gandhi continued, “I am striving to not let that happen in the country.” He accused the BJP and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), which is the RSS’s ideological father, of “trying to stop expression and participation” of minorities in India.
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Minorities uneasy in their own nation
“It is shameful for India to have minorities that are uneasy in their own nation. It is shameful for us if 200 million people in India experience discomfort, if women and members of the Sikh community experience discomfort as well. That must be changed,” Gandhi continued.
When asked about the India-Bharat controversy, Rahul responded that he did not care whether the nation was called India or Bharat, but emphasised that the BJP had changed the name more out of annoyance because the opposition alliance was also called INDIA.
INDIA to Bharat
‘India that is Bharat’, a union of states, is the definition of India. Both names—India and Bharat—are used in the Indian Constitution. Both terms are acceptable. However, we might have irritated the (central) administration with the name of our coalition. The name of our coalition is INDIA. And for that reason, they made the decision to alter the nation’s name,” Gandhi stated.
In the midst of the G-20 meeting, Gandhi, who was reinstated as a member of the Lok Sabha last month, began his week-long vacation to Europe on Tuesday. He will return on September 11, the day after the conference is over.
The BJP and the RSS did not immediately respond to Gandhi’s remarks. The BJP had criticised him earlier on Friday for making his trip while the G20 Summit was taking place in India. Syed Zafar Islam, a spokesman for the BJP at the federal level, declared: “People like (Rahul) Gandhi want to bring a bad name to India.”
The world applauds the nation while Rahul criticises
Union minister Kiren Rijiu on Saturday said, “Rahul Gandhi is attacking India from Foreign soil when the whole world is applauding India’s peaceful rise as a global leader. Rahul Gandhi is deliberately praising China, running down India on foreign soil just to distract India’s successful #G20 summit. Please ignore him.”
In his opening remarks at his meeting with members of the European Parliament on Friday, Gandhi stated that when he brought up the subject of the attacks on India’s democratic institutions, the members expressed concern.
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“Some individuals are attempting to publicise Rahul Gandhi’s anti-India remarks made in Brussels. He is meeting prominent anti-India campaigners and attempting to harm India’s reputation. The #G20 summit is a fantastic opportunity for India to show off its skills and capabilities. Let’s not throw it away, Rijiju continued.
Gandhi spoke with representatives of the European Union, students, and members of the media while he was in Belgium to address the state of India’s democratic institutions, which he claimed were “under attack.”
Gandhi attended a meeting of the French Labour Union in Paris while he was in France, in addition to interacting with students at Sciences Po.
Before departing for India, Gandhi will make a stop in Norway, where he will speak at a diaspora gathering in Oslo and also give a speech at the University of Oslo.
