Congress MP and Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi, currently on a three-day visit to the US, addressed the Indian diaspora in Dallas, Texas, emphasising that his role in Indian politics is to "inject the values of love, respect and humility."
"I see my role as Leader of Opposition is to inject the values of love, respect and humility in Indian politics and all political parties," he said, addressing the Indian diaspora.
Speaking at the event, Rahul Gandhi remarked, "I am speaking to Dallas, and who are you? You are people who have come from India, and the values that I have been describing -- the values of the Constitution, respect, and humility -- are in your heart, in your blood. You came to this country not with arrogance but with humility and love."
He stressed the importance of the India-US relationship, saying, "The US needs India, and India needs the US. You are the bridge between your old home and your new home. You should bring the ideas of India to the US and the ideas of the US to India."
Reflecting on the Indian national anthem, the LoP in the Lok Sabha stated, "It mentions all our states equally. It doesn't rank one above the other. Our Constitution clearly states that 'India, that is Bharat, is a Union of States' -- very much like the United States. We share the fact that we are the two biggest democracies and also that we are unions of states."
Criticising the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Rahul Gandhi said, "The RSS believes that India is one idea, but we believe it is a multiplicity of ideas. Everyone should be allowed to participate and dream, regardless of their caste, language, religion, tradition, or history."
"This is the fight, and the fight was crystallised in the election when millions of people in India clearly understood that the Prime Minister of India was attacking the Constitution of India. The Union of States and respect for languages, religions, traditions, and caste are all in the Constitution. The foundation of modern India is the Constitution," he added.
Rahul Gandhi's speech comes at a critical juncture as he seeks to rally support from the diaspora while continuing his opposition against the ruling BJP back home.
Continuing his speech, he said, "People understood that the BJP is attacking our tradition, language, states, histories, and most importantly, what they understood was that anybody who is attacking the Constitution of India is also attacking our religious tradition. That is why, in my first speech in the Parliament, you must have noticed when I described Abhayamudra, the fact that this is a symbol of fearlessness and it is present in every single Indian religion."
"But the BJP doesn't understand this, and we are going to make them understand," he said, mocking the BJP-led Centre.
The Congress leader also noted the shift in public sentiment following the elections, saying, "The other thing that happened was that the fear of the BJP vanished. We saw that immediately, within minutes of the election result, nobody in India was scared of the BJP or the Prime Minister of India. So these are huge achievements, not of Rahul Gandhi or the Congress party. We are peripheral."
"These are huge achievements of the people of India who realised that we are not going to accept an attack on our Constitution. We are not going to accept an attack on our religion, on our state," he added.
(With inputs from IANS)
