Oust Hindutvadis from power, bring back 'Hindus', Rahul Gandhi says at Congress show of strength
Jaipur, Dec 12: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday said India is a country of Hindus and not Hindutvadis, and called for their ouster so that Hindus' can run it again.
Addressing a rally that was also attended by party president Sonia Gandhi and general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, he accused Hindutvadi Prime Minister Narendra Modi of backstabbing farmers and favouring a handful of industrialists.
"This is a country of Hindus, not Hindutvadis, he said at the meeting, a show of strength here just months ahead of assembly elections in key states like Uttar Pradesh and Punjab.
Hindutvadis have to be ousted once again and the rule of Hindus brought about in the country," he told a packed stadium.
"I am a Hindu and not a Hindutvadi, he said, drawing a distinction between the two terms, weeks after a similar attempt by him provoked controversy.
A Hindu heart is filled with love and that of a Hindutvadi with fear and hatred, he said. A Hindu is someone who is not afraid of anyone, embraces everyone, respects all religions and seeks the truth, he added.
Gandhi said Hindus cannot be suppressed. It has not happened in 3,000 years and it will not happen now. We are not afraid of dying, he said.
Lashing out at fake Hindus , he said a Hindu is one who searches for truth, even if he has to die for it -- Mar jaye ya kat jaye, Hindu satya ko dhoondata hai.
Hindutvadis want power at any cost," Gandhi said. He also used the term sattagrah , or hunt for power, comparing it with that for truth Satyagrah.
He said Congress governments had waived farm loans because farmers are the country's backbone. And referring to the farmers' protest which led to a government climbdown on three agri laws, Gandhi said the PM stabbed the farmers in the back because he is a Hindutvadi .
When the Hindu farmers stood up, the Hindutvadi said I apologise'.
He also accused the Hindutvadi government for the rising prices.
If there is inflation in the country and there is suffering, then this is the work of the Hindutvadis. The Hindutvadis want power on any condition," he said at the meeting billed as a Congress protest against price rise.
Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot, Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel and former Madhya Pradesh CM Digvijya Singh were among the party leaders on the dais.
The rally was originally scheduled to be held in Delhi. But the Congress said the party was denied permission.
The Congress leader alleged that the media and his three or four industrialist friends have ruined the country in the last few years.
Priyanka Gandhi too lashed at the PM, claiming that he favoured his industrialist friends . Sonia Gandhi, however, did not address the rally.
Rahul Gandhi claimed that 90 percent of the corporate profits in the country are made by 20 companies. Pointing at the media covering the event, he said they are also slaves to them.
But they are not Hindutvadi, but Hindus who have been suppressed, he argued.
He claimed that Modi waived taxes of industrialists during the coronavirus pandemic but could not provide even buses to labourers who had to walk home for hundreds of kilometres, and died on the road.
He claimed India was witnessing the highest unemployment in 60 years.
Jobs cannot be generated by two or three industrialists. Jobs are created by lakhs of small and medium businessmen and farmers, he said.
He also alleged that China occupied Indian land in Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh but Modi says nothing happened.
Describing 'Hindu' and 'Hindutva' as two different terms, Gandhi said Mahatma Gandhi was a Hindu and his assassin Nathuram Godse a Hindutvadi.
He said the Mahatma spent his entire life searching for the truth. But in the end a Hindutvadi fired three bullets into his chest.
A Hindutvadi spends his entire life seeking power and has nothing to do with truth and can do anything for power, even if he has to beat or kill someone, he said. "His way is Sattagrah and not Satyagrah."
He said no scripture, be it Gita or Ramayana, says the poor have to be killed and downtrodden crushed.
Lord Krishna did not tell Arjuna to kill his brothers for power. It is written in Gita to fight for the truth even if you have to die, he said.
Earlier, Priyanka Gandhi slammed the Modi-led Union government, saying it wanted to sell to its industrialist friends whatever the Congress had built in 70 years.
She asked what the Modi government has done for the people in the seven years of its rule.
Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi reached Jaipur too late to make it to the rally, sources said. Instead, he met the Gandhis at the airport while they were on their way back to Delhi.
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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.
