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.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Cong claims TVK chief Vijay has sought its support for govt formation in Tamil Nadu
New Delhi (PTI): The Congress on Tuesday claimed that TVK chief Vijay has sought its support for government formation in Tamil Nadu and its leadership has directed the state unit to take a final decision on the matter, keeping in view the state's sentiments.
The party, which fought the assembly election in alliance with the DMK, asserted that the mandate in Tamil Nadu is for a secular government and that it is determined "not to have the BJP and its proxies run the government of Tamil Nadu in any manner".
Top Congress leaders held a meeting at party chief Mallikarjun Kharge's residence on Tuesday evening that was attended by Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and Tamil Nadu in-charge Girish Chodankar, among others.
Addressing the media after the meeting, Congress general secretary, Organisation, K C Venugopal said the Congress leadership discussed the post-election scenario in Tamil Nadu.
"TVK President Thiru Vijay has requested the Indian National Congress for support to form a Government in Tamil Nadu. He has spoken about drawing inspiration from Perumthalaivar Kamaraj as well, in his political mission.
"The INC is clear that the mandate in Tamil Nadu is for a secular government that is committed to protecting the Constitution in letter and spirit. The INC is determined not to have the BJP and its proxies run the Government of Tamil Nadu in any manner," he said.
"Accordingly, the Congress leadership has directed the TNCC to take a final decision on Thiru Vijay's request, keeping in view the sentiments of the state reflected in the electoral verdict," Venugopal told reporters.
Vijay's TVK won 108 seats in the 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly, falling short of the halfway mark. He needs the support of 10 MLAs to form a government with a simple majority. The results were declared only on Monday.
The Congress has won five seats, while the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) has bagged four seats. The CPI and CPI-M have two seats each.
On the other hand, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) has won 59 seats while the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) has won 47 seats.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has won only one seat and so have the Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) and the Amma Makkal Munnettra Kazagam (AMMK), while the VCK has won two seats.
The Congress had fought the assembly polls in a pre-poll alliance with the DMK, while the BJP had a tie-up with the AIADMK.
