RSS believes some religions, languages inferior: Rahul Gandhi
Washington (PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has accused the RSS of considering some religions, languages and communities of being inferior to others and said that the fight in India is about this and not about politics.
The Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha was addressing a gathering of several hundred Indian Americans in Herndon, a Virginia suburb of Washington DC, on Monday.
“First of all, you have to understand what the fight is about. The fight is not about politics. That is superficial,” Gandhi said as he asked one of the Sikh attendees in the front rows to give his name. “What is your name, brother with the turban,” he asked.
“The fight is about whether a Sikh is going to be allowed to wear his turban in India or a kada in India. Or he, as a Sikh, is going to be able to go to Gurdwara. That's what the fight is about. And not just for him, for all religions,” said the Congress leader.
Gandhi is currently on a four-day visit to the United States. His first stop was in Dallas which began on Saturday, and he arrived in Washington DC on Monday.
Criticising the RSS for their policies and vision of India, he said, "What the RSS is basically saying is that certain states are inferior to other states. Certain languages are inferior to other languages. Certain religions are inferior to other religions. Certain communities are inferior to other communities. This is what the fight is about."
"...that is the ideology of the RSS. Tamil, Marathi, Bengali, Manipuri. These are all inferior languages. That's what the fight is about," he said, asserting that these issues end up in the polling booth, the Lok Sabha and the Vidhan Sabha.
"But the fight is about what type of India we are going to have,” he said.
He asserted that regardless of the region one belongs from, "all of you have your history, all of you have your tradition, all of you have your language, and every single one of them is as important as any other one.”
Gandhi also said that the BJP has no "understanding" of India.
“India is called a union of states. And in the Constitution, it's written clearly. India, that is Bharat, is a union of states. It means it's a union of languages, traditions, histories, etc," he said.
"They say this is not a union. These are separate things. Among these, only one is very important. And whose headquarters is in Nagpur,” he said, in a veiled reference to the RSS.
Addressing the diaspora, Gandhi called them "ambassadors of India". "You're the bridge between these two great unions of states. You make us very proud," he said.
"We understand the difficulties and struggles that you have had to deal with. It's not easy. But when you came here, you came with humility, you came with respect, and you came with affection,” he said.
He said that in a BJP system, a person cannot have two identities. "You cannot be India and at the same time be America. That is what the fight is about. That is what we are trying to do in India," he said.
"We are saying, don't spread hatred, spread love. Don't be arrogant, be humble. Don't disrespect people, respect people, respect traditions, respect religions, respect languages, respect communities,” Gandhi said.
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Kapil Sibal informs SC about rape threats to female lawyers representing West Bengal in RG Kar case
New Delhi: Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal informed the Supreme Court on Tuesday that female lawyers from his chambers were receiving rape and physical harm threats for representing the State of West Bengal in the case concerning the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
Sibal expressed concerns before a bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, stating that women in his chambers were being threatened with acid attacks and rape, and that posts were circulating about him laughing during the proceedings.
"There are threats to women in my chamber, and then there are posts about me laughing. People are saying acid will be thrown at them, and they will be raped," Sibal said.
The Court reassured him, with CJI Chandrachud stating, "If there are any such threats to any man or woman, we will step in."
Sibal also raised concerns about the impact of live-streaming the hearings on the lawyers’ reputations, stating that the 50-year reputation he had built was being destroyed overnight due to misinterpretations of court remarks. He requested the Court to halt the live-streaming, but the CJI declined, maintaining that it was in the public interest.
The case relates to the rape and murder of a 31-year-old resident doctor, whose body was found on August 9 in a seminar hall of RG Kar Medical College. An autopsy confirmed that the doctor had been raped and murdered. The incident sparked protests across the country, with doctors demanding stronger laws and increased protection for medical professionals.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is currently handling the probe, following an order from the Calcutta High Court. The Supreme Court took suo motu cognizance of the matter, issuing several directives, including the establishment of a National Task Force to address issues related to the safety of medical professionals and gender-based violence. The Court also ordered the State of West Bengal to file a status report on the acts of vandalism that took place at the hospital following the incident and directed that Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) security be deployed at the hospital.
The CBI is expected to submit a status report on the investigation soon.
