Hindutva and Hinduism are two different concepts: Rahul Gandhi
Wardha, Nov 12: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday said his party's ideology is like a "beautiful jewel" with an unending power inside it, but it has been overshadowed by the BJP, and maintained Hindu and Hindutva are different concepts.
If crystalized, the Congress ideology which is alive and vibrant will envelope that of the BJP-RSS, he said and emphasised on strengthening his party's ideas within the organisation and spreading them across the country.
Gandhi was addressing online a four-day 'AICC orientation programme' organised at Sevagram Ashram in Wardha. Congress representatives from across the states are participating in the programme.
He said, "We have to accept that there are two ideologies in India - the Congress ideology and the RSS ideology. We have to accept the BJP-RSS has spread hatred in today's India." The former Congress president said there has been "complete capture" of the media by the saffron outfit.
"The BJP has overshadowed the loving, affectionate and nationalistic ideology of the Congress party. Our ideology is alive and vibrant, but it has been overshadowed by the BJP," said the Lok Sabha MP from Wayanad in Kerala.
"It has been overshadowed partly because of complete capture of the media and complete capture of the Indian nation. It has also been overshadowed as we have not propagated our ideology among our own people aggressively," said Gandhi.
Gandhi observed that Hindutva and Hinduism are two different concepts.
These are the types of things we need to explore and understand and develop a group of people...100, 200, 300, 500 people who deeply understand these differences, who can apply these differences to issues, behaviour, to action.
Is Hinduism about beating a Sikh, or a Muslim. Hindutva, of course, is. In which book is it written? I have not seen it. I have read the Upanishads. I have not read it, he said.
"We say there is a difference between Hindutva and Hindu religion. It is a simple logic - if you are a Hindu then why do you need Hindutva? why do you need this new name?" he asked.
The Congress leader said in today's India, ideological fight has become very important.
"The Congress ideology...the ideology it follows has been existing in India for thousands of years. Just like the RSS has its icons, the Congress has its own icons... they are different icons. But, we have them, it is about bringing this ideological ocean and allowing our people to swim in it," he said.
Gandhi admitted the Congress did not propagate its ideas properly in the past.
"Now is the time to strengthen Congress ideology in its own organisation and spread its across India through party workers," he said.
The Congress MP stressed on importance of ideological training, which he said, should be mandatory for all party workers.
"The central way to propagate the party's ideology is by training people in a conversation about what it means to be a Congress person and how is that different from being an RSS person," Gandhi said.
Ideologically training of party workers, in my view, should be made mandatory irrespective of seniority, Gandhi said in his address. Gandhi said the Congress ideology, if studied and propagated deeply in the organisation, has answers of all questions related to various issues of public concern - ranging from Article 370, terrorism to nationalism, but the party doesn't give necessary tools to its workers to articulate them.
Gandhi said the Congress ideology is like a "beautiful jewel" with an unending power inside it.
"It is our strength...it is why we exist and it is important we discover it. They (BJP) have discovered their ideology and crystalized it. We have to crystalize our ideology and the moment we do that it will envelope their ideology. The hate that is being spread today will vanish and the future which seems uncertain will become certain," he added. Recalling his conversation with former Uttarakhand minister Yashpal Arya who returned to the party fold last month, Gandhi said Arya told him for a Congressman, it is very suffocating to survive in the BJP.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
