Defeating BJP first priority of Opposition in 2019, leadership later: Rahul Gandhi
London, Aug 25 : Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Friday said the 2019 Lok Sabha elections will be a straight contest between the BJP and the "entire opposition" and their "first priority" is to defeat the ruling alliance.
He said the issue of leadership will be taken up by opposition parties after the polls.
In an interactive session at the London School of Economics here, Gandhi also said that quality of debate in parliament was "low quality" as parliamentarians were not involved in making laws, "which were made by the prime minister, ministers and bureaucrats".
Gandhi, who was asked questions about the next Lok Sabha elections, said it will be "pretty straightforward" contest between "Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on one side and the entire opposition on the other".
Gandhi said almost the entire Opposition feel that "systematic attack was taking place on Indian institutions".
"We are going to have a clear-cut election," he said, adding that once the arithmetic of Opposition unity comes into play in states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, "it becomes very difficult for the BJP to win".
He said the Opposition was working to defeat an onslaught on the Constitution and to defend the nature of Indian state.
"The first priority is to defeat the BJP. Once election is over all conversation can take place (about the leadership). Not till we defeat the BJP," he said.
Apparently referring to parties such as Shiv Sena, which are not likely to contest polls as partners of BJP, Gandhi said the next election was an "ideological battle".
"We will not work with somebody who is not ideologically with us," he said. "I have tendency to reach out, listen," he said, adding that it can help build coalitions.
Gandhi said he had over 15 years of experience in politics and has taken his share of shots to the chin. Referring to the weaknesses of the Congress, Gandhi said the party is not able to express the ideas very effectively.
"The BJP and RSS are very clear in what they are saying. There is no confusion. RSS spends time on an idea. Congress needs to expand and be precise about what it stands for."
Gandhi also said a reason the party did not do well in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls was due to "internal fight" between the younger and older generation.
"There are senior leaders with experience and with understanding and there are youngsters who are developing. You cannot break the past because there is a lot of value in some of the senior people. So, in a sense, the present has to be a merger of the future and the past. That's really why Congress ran into trouble in 2014."
Gandhi said he has tried to bring them together successfully. He also said that the threat in the Congress is "arrogance". He also said there was a full-blown job crisis in India but the government does not accept that.
Answering a query, Gandhi said he viewed the government as an enabler. "India has tremendous amount of energy. We have to put it together."
On dynastic politics, Gandhi said he operates in a democracy and is attacked by the opponents and reacts to them. "The most important thing is what you bring on the table and how far you listen."
He said there is need to make MPs more powerful in the process of making laws.
"Why debate in parliament is of such low quality... there is so much shouting. You give lawmakers more power. Quality of debate will improve," he said.
Answering another query, he said the single biggest instrument against corruption is RTI. Referring to the power of dialogue, he said "the extent of power in conversation surprises me".
Gandhi said that rather than a top-down approach, he would prefer asking farmers about their problems and finding solutions.
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Congress cites Maniben Patel's diary entries, asks Rajnath to apologise for Babri claim
New Delhi (PTI): The Congress on Saturday shared diary entries of Vallabhbhai Patel's daughter from a book to rebut Defence Minister Rajnath Singh's claim that India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, wanted to build the Babri masjid using public funds, and demanded that Singh apologise for spreading "falsehoods".
Congress general secretary in charge of communications, Jairam Ramesh, claimed the defence minister was spreading falsehoods to “improve his relationship” with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“Here is Maniben's original diary entry in Gujarati on pages 212-213 in the book ‘Samarpit Padchhayo Sardarno’ by CA R S Patel 'Aaresh', published by Sardar Patel Vallabhbhai Patel Memorial Society, 2025,” Ramesh said on X, sharing screenshots of the relevant pages from the book.
“There is a huge difference between what is contained in the original diary entry and what Rajnath Singh ji and his fellow ‘distorians’ are propagating,” Ramesh said.
“The Defence Minister must apologise for the falsehoods he is spreading, simply to improve his relationship with the PM,” he claimed.
The Congress had earlier termed Singh's claim that Nehru wanted to build the Babri masjid using public funds a “lie” and “WhatsApp university story”, and said the defence minister should not walk in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's path.
Addressing a gathering at Sadhli village in Gujarat's Vadodara district last Tuesday, Singh said Nehru wanted to build the Babri masjid using public funds, but Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel didn't allow his plans to succeed.
The BJP had cited a book by Vallabhbhai Patel's daughter to double down on Singh's claims, and said the first prime minister also said he felt "repelled" by some of the temples in south India despite their beauty.
“The source of what Rajnath Singh said is the 'Inside Story of Sardar Patel, Diary of Maniben Patel'," BJP Rajya Sabha MP and national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi had said at a press conference at the party headquarters while responding to media queries on the issue.
Trivedi claimed that on Page 24 of the book, it is written that Nehru also raised the question of the Babri mosque, but Sardar Patel made it clear that the government could not spend any money on building a mosque.
