‘Every Person Must Feel Loved’: Rahul Gandhi Targets BJP Over Minorities, Dalits

Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said the nation must make every person feel loved, regardless of their religion, caste, age or gender.

Addressing the ‘Hara Bhara Swaraj’ congregation, Rahul Gandhi commemorated the 82nd birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. He criticised the BJP for targeting minorities, Dalits and tribals.

“The BJP tells Muslims, Christians and Sikhs that they don’t exist. BJP tells Adivasis that their land will be taken, and if they protest, they will be shot. BJP tells Dalits that their oppression doesn’t matter. This is what has been done to our country,” he said.

“That needs to be reversed,” Rahul Gandhi asserted, stressing that every person should feel a sense of belonging, love and respect in the country.

Swaraj and Gandhi’s Vision

The Congress leader said ‘Swaraj’ was an Indian concept that was wrongly translated as ‘freedom’ in English. He described it as ‘ruling over oneself’ and said while freedom could be granted to another person, Swaraj could not be bestowed upon someone else. He described an individual’s personal relationship with the world as Swaraj and said Mahatma Gandhi wanted every person in the country to follow this path.

Rahul Gandhi said Gandhi’s vision required an affordable education system. He further called for a fair testing system. He said the country needed a financial system without monopolies and a political system that reached deep into the country.

Addressing students and young people, the LoP said their aspirations should be respected. He said this should apply whether they wanted to become engineers, cooks, shoemakers or astronauts.

“It is the job of the government and the country to open the doors to your imagination and make you feel and believe. The country should help you walk on that path. That is Gandhi Ji’s vision for India, and that is the path of Swaraj,” Rahul Gandhi noted.

The Congress leader said India faces an ideological battle. One side seeks to control the system. The other, however, believes individuals understand their own truth better.

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