Rahul Gandhi calls RSS '21st century Kauravas'
Ambala/Chandigarh, Jan 9: Targeting the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday called its members the "21st century Kauravas" and alleged they never say "Har Har Mahadev" and "Jai Siya Ram" as they are against India's values and "tapasya".
Addressing a street-corner meeting after the Bharat Jodo Yatra led by him reached Ambala district Monday evening, Gandhi said Haryana is the land of the Mahabharata and went on to take a dig at the RSS and the ruling dispensation.
"Who were the Kauravas? I will first tell you about the 21st century Kauravas, they wear khakhi half-pants, they carry lathis in hands and hold shakhas.... India's 2-3 billionaires are standing with these Kauravas," he alleged, referring to the RSS.
"Did the Pandavas do demonetisation, implement wrong GST? Would they have ever done so? Never. Why? Because they were tapasvis and they knew that demonetisation, wrong GST, farm laws are a way to steal from tapasvis of this land.... (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi did sign on these decisions, but the power of India's 2-3 billionaires was behind it, whether you agree or not," he told the gathering.
Gandhi said people greet each other with "Jai Siya Ram".
"RSS people never say Har Har Mahadev, you note this. Why they never say so. I thought about this. Because Lord Shiva was a 'tapasvi" and they are attacking on India's 'tapasya', that is why they cannot say Har Har Mahadev," he said.
"...they never say Jai Siya Ram. They have taken out Sita ji from this. They have worked against our history, our values. And when any Congress worker meets an RSS worker, he should be asked to greet by saying Jai Siya Ram because Sita was as important as Ram," he said.
He said today's fight is the same as that of the time of the Mahabharata. "People don't understand this.... Between whom is this fight? Who were Pandavas? Arjuna, Bhim...they used to do tapasya," he further said.
He asked the gathering if they had heard about the Pandavas spreading hatred on this land and doing any crime against an innocent person.
"On one hand there were these five tapasvis and on the other hand there was a crowded organisation. With the Pandavas, there were people of all religions. Like this (Bharat Jodo) Yatra, nobody asks anyone from where he comes. It is a shop of love. The Pandavas had also stood against injustice, they too had opened shop of love in the market of hate," he said.
Referring to the Mahabharata, he said, "Did the billionaires of that time stand with the Pandavas?... If they had, why would Pandavas have to roam in jungles. Why were Pandavas driven out of their homes, because billionaires were not standing with them. But the people of this land -- farmers, poor, small shopkeepers -- were standing with them. This country is of tapsavis."
On Sunday, Gandhi had told reporters in Kurukshetra that the Bharat Jodo Yatra was against hatred and fear being spread in society and he sees the foot march as "tapasya".
Here in Ambala, he said, "Someone told me that I have walked 3,000 km. I said so what, what is the big deal as farmers, labourers of this country walk miles every day.
He said farmers and labourers do not wear a smartwatch like him which can show the distance one has covered.
"That is why maybe they do not know how many kilometres they walk," he said as he referred to farmers, labourers, small shopkeepers as "tapasvis" of the country and said the government should protect these "tapsavis".
"The aim of this yatra is that their 'tapasya' should not go in vain," he said.
He also pitched for large-scale manufacturing in the country.
"If you see on the back of your mobile phones, 'Made in China' is written. On the shoes worn by policemen 'Made in China' will be written, on shirts, on microphones 'Made in China' will be written.
"I am fed up with this "Made in China", "Made in China". I want that a youth in Beijing holds a phone with 'Made In Kurukshetra' written on it," he said, while adding he wants to see such an India.
The yatra, which started from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu on September 7, will end after reaching Srinagar by January 30 with Gandhi hoisting the national flag there.
Currently, the march is passing through Haryana.
The march has so far covered Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh.
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Rickelton's ton in vain as SRH beat MI by 6 wickets
Mumbai (PTI): Ryan Rickelton's whirlwind unbeaten ton was overshadowed by Heinrich Klaasen's unbeaten 65 as Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated Mumbai Indians by six wickets in an IPL match here on Wednesday.
Chasing an imposing 244-run target, Travis Head (76 off 30) and Abhishek Sharma (45 off 24) shared 129 runs for the opening wicket to set the platform for SRH.
Klaasen (65 not out off 30 balls) then displayed his all-round hitting abilities to guide SRH home with the help of Nitish Kumar Reddy (21) and Salil Arora (30 not out off 10) in 18.4 overs.
Earlier, Rickelton's knock powered MI to 243 for five.
MI rode on a 93-run stand between Rickelton (123 not out off 55 balls) and Will Jacks (46 off 22) in 7.1 overs for the opening stand to power the side.
MI skipper Hardik Pandya scored a valuable 31 off 15 balls before being dismissed.
Praful Hinge (2/54), Eshan Malinga (1/29), Sakib Hasan (1/39) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (1/31) were the wicket-takers for SRH.
Brief Scores:
Mumbai Indian: 243 for 5 in 20 overs (Ryan Rickelton 123 not out; Praful Hinge 2/54).
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 249 for 4 in 18.4 overs (Travis Head 76, Heinrich Klaasen 65 not out; AM Ghazanfar 2/51).
