New Delhi: Stepping up his attack on Narendra Modi, Congress president Rahul Gandhi said the Prime Minister doesn’t have a 56-inch chest but a four-inch one. Challenging him to a one-on-one debate, Gandhi called Modi a “darpok” (coward).
He also accused Modi of “folding hands” in front of the Chinese on the Doklam standoff, and the RSS of running the government with a remote control from its headquarters in Nagpur.
Gandhi was addressing an event called ‘Mera Samvidhan, Mera Swabhiman’ (My Constitution, My Pride), the national convention of the AICC’s minority department.
On Doklam
Gandhi alleged that in 2017, after China sent its troops to Doklam, a plateau at the tri-junction of India, Bhutan and China, Modi flew to China without an agenda and stood there with “folded hands”.
“Uske baad China kehta hai Narendra Modi ko test karte hai… and sends their army in Doklam. You know what happens, Narendra Modi goes to Beijing and the China government without an agenda for a talk. And China is able to know in two minutes ‘56 inch? Iski toh 4 inch ki chhaati nahi hai. Bhaiyo aur behno, haath joda hai China ke saamne, national security ki baat karta hai,” Gandhi alleged.
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On RSS ‘remote control’
Gandhi also accused the Modi government of being run from the RSS headquarters in Nagpur, with Modi being the face and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat holding the remote control.
The Congress president cautioned the bureaucracy that it needs to work for the people of India and not for the RSS. He also said all those people linked to the RSS who have become a part of government institutions would be removed by his party.
“In the past 15 years, in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, governments were unable to function. In every institution, people from the RSS were put at the helm of affairs. Kamal Nath (CM of MP) told me that there was a special ministry and Rs 800 crore were put into this ministry. You know where that money has gone? What that ministry has done? That money was given to RSS people,” Gandhi said.
“I want to assure you we have not only won these states but in these states we will remove people of the RSS who are in government institutions one-by-one. The bureaucracy of these states as well as India’s should know that and you are not RSS’ bureaucracy, you are Hindustan’s bureaucracy. You don’t work for an organisation but for the people.”
Challenging Modi to debate
He once again challenged the Prime Minister and the BJP to conduct a debate between them. “Modiji, you said you have a 56-inch chest. I challenge you to come a have a face-to-face debate with me. I challenge you. I challenge the BJP, let Narendra Modiji debate with me on stage. He is scared. He is a darpok. I have recognised him (for who he is),” Gandhi said.
On RSS running the country via BJP
Accusing the BJP of allowing its ideological parent the RSS to run the government, Gandhi told the minority cell representatives from across the country not to fear anyone, and said things would be different after the Lok Sabha elections
“The Constitution is the battlefield on which this election is being fought. RSS wants to change the Constitution of India so that the country can be run from Nagpur by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat,” Gandhi said.
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‘Chowkidar chor hai’
The Congress president once again used the phrase that has become his pet of late —chowkidaar chor hai — and accused the Modi government of providing benefits to industrialist Anil Ambani.
However, he apologised to chowkidars/security guards, acknowledging their hard work: “Aap bahut achha kaam karte ho… Hum sirf ek chowkidaar ki baat karte hai, jo chor hai.”