Riding on the triumph of his party’s win in the recently ended Karnataka Assembly elections, senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said at a US event on Saturday that his party would crush the BJP in Telangana and other future state elections.
Rahul stressed that it is the people of India, not the Congress party, who will beat the BJP’s hate-filled ideology. “We demonstrated in Karnataka that we can crush the BJP…We didn’t vanquish them; we annihilated them. “We smashed them in Karnataka,” he stated at a dinner event hosted by the Indian Overseas Congress-USA on Saturday in New York.
Rahul, who is scheduled to speak at a community gathering at Manhattan’s Javits Centre on Sunday, claimed the BJP “tried everything in the book” to win the Karnataka polls, but failed. “They had the entire media, ten times the amount of money we had, the government, and the agency.” “They had everything, and we decimated them,” he said.
“After this election, it will be difficult to find the BJP in Telangana,” he warned, referring to the state where the present Assembly’s term is set to expire in January 2024. “It will not be just the Congress party that will defeat the BJP.” The people of India, the people of Madhya Pradesh, the people of Telangana, the people of Rajasthan, and the people of Chhattisgarh will defeat the BJP,” Rahul concluded.
C Raja Mohan writes on Rahul Gandhi’s visit to the United States: Can Congress break Modi’s stranglehold on the Indian diaspora?
Rahul reiterated his election campaign slogans of “mohabbat ki dukaan” (shop of love) and “nafrat ka bazaar” (market of hatred), saying that India has realised it cannot “go forward with the kind of hatred BJP is spreading.” “That is what will occur in the next few states.” And then, in 2024, we’ll do the same…We are all working together as the opposition. It is a struggle of ideas. On one side, there is the BJP’s divisive ideology, the BJP’s hate-filled philosophy. On the other hand, there is the Congress party’s warm, loving philosophy,” he said.
He said that the BJP attempted to polarise the poll in Karnataka by fostering animosity and enmity amongst groups. “The Prime Minister tested it personally. “Did it work?” he asked, to which the crowd answered, “no.” According to Rahul, the Karnataka people announced that the election is about pricing, unemployment, and corruption.
Congress supporters, politicians, party members, and diaspora members flocked to the community gathering, which was also attended by New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
According to Adams, “New Delhi of America is right here in New York City.” “This community is one of the most highly educated, one of the most highly business operated and owned,” he remarked, adding that what makes America special is that “we tell you never give up your homeland as you embrace your adopted land,” to applause and shouts from those in attendance.
Also Read | ‘Insulting India’: Rahul Gandhi’s words in the US enrage the BJP
Earlier in the day, Rahul “had a thought-provoking fireside chat” with New York’s greatest intellectuals at Roosevelt House, the former residence of US President Franklin D Roosevelt.
Rahul described the diaspora in the United States as “our ambassadors” who have shown to America and the rest of the globe “what it means to be Indian.” He said that there is a war going on in India, as well as a parallel fight in America, over two opposing visions for India. “One vision – our vision – accepts, embraces, respects, loves, and wants everyone to be a part of our country’s future, regardless of religion, community, caste, or language.”
Rahul stated to the crowd and diaspora at the occasion, “You respect other religions.” You value different cultures. You respect other people, especially ladies. And it is the finest method to combat the BJP, to live according to the philosophy in which we believe,” he added, adding that the struggle would be easy.
Also Read | ‘Hello, Mr Modi,’ Rahul Gandhi jokes, claiming that his phone is being tapped.
Rahul landed in New York on Saturday, having previously visited Washington and San Francisco. His journey to the United States comes only weeks before Modi’s planned visit to the nation later this month.
Rahul, who begins his three-city US visit in California on May 31, has attacked the governing BJP administration, claiming it is “threatening” the people and “misusing” the country’s agencies. Speaking at an event in Santa Clara, California, he said that the BJP and the RSS dominate all political tools in India. “The BJP is threatening people and abusing government institutions.” “The Bharat Jodo Yatra began because the BJP-RSS controlled all of the instruments we needed to connect with the people,” he said.
He went on to say that in India, there are those who believe they know more than God, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is “one such specimen.”
On June 1, while answering to a question from a student at the Stanford University Campus in California, Rahul said that India cannot be bullied by China, emphasising that the relationship between the two neighbours would be “tough” and not simple. In response to a query on his disqualification as an MP, he said that he did not anticipate his disqualification from Lok Sabha when he entered politics, but that it has provided him with a “huge opportunity” to serve the people.
