Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Jan 15: In no holds barred attack on each other, the BJP hit out at the Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his comment that the Congress was not only fighting the saffron outfits, but also the “Indian State,” and Mr Gandhi launching a sharp attack on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat calling for his arrest for stating that India truly became independent only with the consecration of the Ram Janmabhoomi Temple in Ayodhya.
Mr Gandhi made the remark while addressing a gathering after the inauguration by the Congress Parliamentary Party chief Sonia Gandhi of the new Congress headquarters in Delhi on Wednesday. Slamming the BJP and its ideological parent RSS, Mr Gandhi said, “Our ideology like the RSS ideology is thousands of years old and it has been fighting the RSS ideology for thousands of years. Do not think that we are fighting a fair fight. There is no fairness in this. If you believe that we are fighting a political organisation called the BJP or RSS, you have not understood what is going on. The BJP and the RSS have captured every single institution of our country. We are now fighting the BJP, the RSS and the Indian State itself,” he said.
Launching a sharp attack on the Congress and Mr Gandhi, the BJP chief and union health minister JP Nadda said the Congress party’s “ugly truth now stands exposed.” Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman asked why Mr Gandhi carried a copy of the Constitution if he thought the Opposition was fighting the State.
The BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya taking Mr Gandhi head on said his remarks have come “straight out of George Soros’s playbook.” “Rahul Gandhi has now declared an open war against the Indian State itself. This is straight out of George Soros’s playbook,” Malviya posted on X, while sharing Rahul Gandhi’s video of his remarks.
BJP MP Nishikant Dubey said Rahul Gandhi was “waging a war” against BR Ambedkar’s Constitution by his remarks, which “aligns” with Soros’ agenda. “The term “Indian State” refers to the Constitution of India, which means Rahul Gandhi is waging a war against Ambedkar’s Constitution. By denying Ambedkar’s legacy and attempting to alter the Indian Constitution, the Gandhi family appears to be aiming for the division of the country—aligning with Soros’s dream of a fragmented India,” he said.
In a long post on X, Mr Nadda said, “Hidden no more, Congress’ ugly truth now stands exposed by their own leader. I ‘compliment’ Mr Rahul Gandhi for saying clearly what the nation knows- that he is fighting the Indian state,” he said. “It is not a secret that Mr Gandhi and his ecosystem have close links with Urban Naxals and the Deep State who want to defame, demean and discredit India. His repeated actions have also strengthened this belief. Everything he has done or said has been in the direction of breaking India and dividing our society,” Mr Nadda added.
“Congress has a history of encouraging all those forces who want a weak India. Their greed for power meant compromising the nation’s integrity and betraying the trust of the people. But, the people of India are wise. They have decided that they will always reject Mr Rahul Gandhi and his rotten ideology,” the BJP chief said. Finance Minister Sitharaman said the Leader of the Opposition, who took the oath on the Constitution, is saying he is fighting the Indian State.
Mr Gandhi also launched a frontal attack on Mr Bhagwat for his remark that India got “true independence” after the Ram Temple in Ayodhya was consecrated. He said the RSS chief’s comment amounted to “treason” and that he would be arrested and tried if he was in any other country.
“We are getting a new headquarters at a very particular time. I think it’s quite symbolic that yesterday, the chief of the RSS said that India never achieved Independence in 1947. He said true Independence in India was achieved when the Ram Mandir was built. He says that the Constitution was not the symbol of our freedom,” Mr Gandhi said.
“Mohan Bhagwat has the audacity to inform the nation every two or three days what he thinks about the Independence movement, what he thinks about the Constitution. What he has said yesterday is treason because it is stating that the Constitution is invalid, it is stating that everything (done) to fight against the British was invalid and he has the audacity to say this publicly,” Mr Gandhi said, adding, “in any other country, he would be arrested and tried.”
“To say that India did not get Independence in 1947 is an insult to every single Indian and it’s about time we stop listening to this nonsense that these people think they can just keep parroting out and shouting and screaming,” the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha said.
Mr Bhagwat was in Indore on Monday to present the National Devi Ahilya award to Champat Rai, general secretary of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust. Addressing a gathering there, he had said the day of the consecration of Ram Temple in Ayodhya should be celebrated as “Pratishtha Dwadashi” as it marks the “true independence” of Bharat. “India, which faced enemy attacks for centuries, witnessed its true independence that day. We had independence, but it had not been established. India got political independence on August 15, 1947, we also brought a Constitution but the country did not run in its spirit. How can we accept that dreams have been fulfilled and pain alleviated? Our swa (self) is Ram, Krishna and Shiva. Do they belong only to those who worship them? No. Ram connects people from north to south, Krishna from east to west and Shiva is in every particle of Bharat,” he had said.
Earlier, Mrs Sonia Gandhi inaugurated the Congress patty’s new headquarters located at 9A, Kotla Road marking a key moment in the history of the grand old party which has operated from the 24, Akbar Road for the last 47 years. Besides Mr Rahul Gandhi, the Congress party chief Mallikarjun Kharge, party general secretaries KC Venugopal and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and other senior leaders were present on the occasion.
The event saw party leaders hoist the party flag at the new headquarters and the singing of Vande Matram and the national anthem. Sonia Gandhi then inaugurated the building, asking Mr Kharge to join her in cutting the ribbon at the entry of the building.
The new state-of-the-art AICC headquarters — Indira Gandhi Bhawan – symbolises the Congress party’s continuing mission to uphold the vision of its stalwarts, the party had earlier said. “It is time for us to move ahead with the times and embrace the new,” AICC general secretary, organisation, Venugopal had said. The construction of Indira Gandhi Bhawan was started during Sonia Gandhi’s tenure as Congress chief.
“Situated at 9A, Kotla Road, New Delhi, the Indira Gandhi Bhawan is designed to meet the evolving needs of the party and its leaders, featuring modern facilities to support administrative, organisational, and strategic activities.” “This iconic building reflects the Congress party’s forward-looking vision while paying homage to its extraordinary past, which has shaped the political and social fabric of India,” he had said.
Sources have said the party will not vacate its present 24, Akbar Road office, which has been its headquarters since 1978 after the Congress (I) was formed, and it will continue to house some of its cells.
The construction of the new AICC headquarters was delayed by several years owing to “paucity of funds” ever since the Congress lost its government at the Centre. The BJP has also not vacated its old party headquarters at 11, Ashoka Road, even after shifting to its new headquarters at Deendayal Upadhyay Marg.
