New Delhi [India], August 4 (ANI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday attacked the BJP and RSS at a book launch event and accused them of having a thought process that “this country is not an expression of the many”.
Speaking at the launch of the book ‘Vaiko in Parliament’, a compilation of the parliamentary speeches of MDMK leader Vaiko, Rahul Gandhi referred to the recent protests by students over NEET-UG paper leak, saying they are “on the street, in severe pain, are asking for fairness in exams and for an education system that works”.
Gandhi, who is Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, said every state has the right to express itself.
“The Constitution clearly says, India that is Bharat is a Union of States. Every state has the right to its own culture, the right to its own history, the right to its own language. And here we have, suddenly, some ignorant people who don’t understand the Tamil language, who don’t understand the Tamil people, who don’t understand the Marathi people, who don’t understand the Bengali people, who don’t understand the people from Kerala and say ‘No, none of these histories are relevant, none of these imaginations are relevant, none of these languages are relevant. The only language, the only history that is important, relevant is the one ascribed by the RSS,” he said.
“This is really what the fight is about. This is why the students are outside. Because India will never accept any of its cultures, any of its languages, any of its histories to be trampled by anybody,” he added.
The Congress leader also took potshots at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his remarks about forgiving students who had used abusive words against him in videos during protest at Jantar Mantar. Congress has been saying that the government should apologise to the protestors over the police action against them.
“We are going through a strange time in our country. Students are on the street, in severe pain, they are asking for fairness in exams, they are asking for an education system that works. On the other side we have the Prime Minister who is forgiving them. Who he is to forgive them, I don’t know. Where he gets the idea that he has the right to forgive the future of India, I don’t know,” he said.
“But that’s what he chooses to do. Behind the thinking of the Prime Minister and behind the thinking of his colleagues, and particularly the RSS, is a very dangerous and caustic idea. The idea that this country is not an expression of the many,” he added.
Rahul Gandhi also praised Vaiko. “Whenever I judge a politician, the first thing, most important thing I look for is consistency. Does the person believe in some ideas, maintain those ideas consistently, or does the person say one thing one day, another thing the next day, another thing the third day? And Vaiko has been among the most consistent parliamentarians in our country,” he said.
“When I spoke of consistency, when I said Vaiko is a consistent politician, the one thing that he has defended all his life is the aspirations, the dreams, the imagination of the Tamil people. Tamil language, the future of Tamil Nadu, the suffering of Tamil Nadu, and that is really what India is about…the only language, the only history that’s important, relevant, is the one ascribed by the RSS. And this is really what the fight is about. India will never accept, will never ever accept any of its cultures, any of its languages, any of its histories to be trampled by anybody,” he added.
Describing his relationship with Vaiko, Rahul Gandhi said, “We have a friendship going on between us. And we are very fond of each other.”
Rahul Gandhi said the leaders present at the event represented the idea of India in their own way and thanked Vaiko for his service to Tamil Nadu, the Indian Union and the Constitution.
“I would like to thank, from the bottom of my heart, Vaiko for the service that he has done not just to Tamil Nadu, but to the Indian Union, to the Constitution of India,” he said.
The book “Vaiko in Parliament” is a compilation of the parliamentary speeches of Vaiko. The event was attended by several Opposition leaders, including Akhilesh Yadav, P Chidambaram, MA Baby, D Raja, Sagarika Ghose, K Vasan, Manickam Tagore, John Brittas and Durai Vaiko. (ANI)
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