New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said Friday that India was witnessing a struggle between “two visions” these days, one he termed as a fight between Mahatma Gandhi’s vision and Nathuram Godse’s vision.
Speaking to reporters in Brussels, the first stop of his multi-nation European tour, Gandhi said there were “serious issues” about the “type of actions that are being taken with regards to institutions and democracy” in the country.
He told foreign correspondents at the Belgium Press Club: “The democratic structures of our country… are under attack from the group of people who are running India. I don’t think this point is missed by anybody.”
Gandhi said there was a “full-scale assault” on the institutions of the country. “It has been commented on internally and globally. Of course, minorities are under attack. So are many other communities. Dalits, Tribals. Lower castes,” India’s Opposition leader said.
He said there was also an attempt to change the nature of the country. “Our country in the Constitution is described as a ‘Union of States’. We believe that the most-critical aspect of our Union is the conversation between its members.
“There is an alternative vision, the BJP vision, which believes that power should be centralised. Power should be concentrated. Wealth should be concentrated. And the conversation between members of the Union, between people of India should be suppressed. This is the fight between two visions. I like to term it as the fight between Mahatma Gandhi’s vision and Nathuram Godse’s vision. Nathuram Godse being the person who assassinated our leader,” Gandhi said.
VIDEO | "Minorities including Dalits, tribal and lower caste communities are under attack. There is an attempt to change the nature of our country. BJP wants power and wealth to be centralised," says Congress leader @RahulGandhi while interacting with international media at… pic.twitter.com/jIiULV6xt0
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) September 8, 2023
Asked about India’s year-long presidency of the G20 – and the culminating summit of world leaders this weekend – Gandhi said: “G20 is an important conversation and it is a good thing that India is hosting it.”
He was, however, very critical of the decision not to invite party chief Mallikarjun Kharge to President Droupadi Murmu’s dinner for world leaders on 9 September.
The former Congress president said: “They have decided not to invite the leader of the Opposition. It tells you something. It tells you that they don’t value the leader of 60% of India’s population. It is something people should think about. Why are they feeling the need to do that? What is the type of thinking that goes behind that?”
On Jammu and Kashmir, Gandhi said the Congress’s position on Article 370 was very clear. “We are for ensuring that every single person in our country has a voice, and is allowed to express themselves. We feel very strongly that Kashmir should develop, progress and that there should be peace in Kashmir,” he added.
On Thursday, he held closed-door meetings with some members of the European Parliament (MEPs), and according to sources, the ongoing violent ethnic distress in Manipur was among the topics discussed.
This comes against the backdrop of a resolution titled “India, the situation in Manipur” which had been adopted by the European Parliament in July.
The discussions in the Belgian capital, which were not listed on the official parliamentary agenda of the day, were described as successful by Opposition party sources.
Later on Thursday, Gandhi attended an event organised by civil society organisations focussed on human rights issues within the European Union (EU). The day concluded with an interaction over dinner with the Belgium-based Indian diaspora.
He is also tentatively scheduled to address the media in the French capital later on Friday.
On Saturday, he is expected to hold a meeting with French parliamentarians and interact with students at the Sciences Po University before leaving for the Netherlands on Sunday. There he will visit the 400-year-old Leiden University and interact with students.
On September 11, the Congress leader will head to Norway where he will meet parliamentarians in the capital Oslo. He will also meet non-resident Indians and attend a meeting at the University of Oslo.