New Delhi: Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi claimed that the RSS’ method of attacking an opponent is by making personal attacks and they used to do the same with Mahatma Gandhi, “who had to bear their abuse all along”.
Rahul made the remarks during an interaction with I.N.D.I.A. leaders RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav, CPI(ML)’s Dipankar Bhattacharya, VIP’s Mukesh Sahani, Bihar Congress president Rajesh Kumar and senior Congress leader Shakeel Ahmad Khan as well as Mahatma Gandhi’s great-grandson Tushar Gandhi at a roadside tea-stall during the Vote Adhikar Yatra in Bihar’s Araria.
Posting the video of the interaction, Rahul said on X, “yatra, vote chori, and Gandhi-ji — a lively political discussion over hot tea and pakoras with coalition partners.”
As Tushar Gandhi remarked that debates used to be “very strong and heated” in the past but never became personal abuse and that “now it has been legitimised”, Tejashwi said it has started since 2014, in an apparent reference to the victory of Narendra Modi-led BJP in the Lok Sabha elections.
Rahul intervened, “The RSS method of attacking is (making) personal attacks. They used to do it with Gandhi ji all the time. People don’t know, don’t remember the amount of abuse and defamation heaped on him (Mahatma Gandhi) by the RSS. How much they lied about him, this is their style.”
Tejashwi said even former Bihar Chief Minister Karpoori Thakur was abused by the RSS. “Then they had to give him a Bharat Ratna,” he said.
The RJD also claimed that people earlier used to say that they cast their vote but when the results came, they did not know where their vote had gone.
“Now, these things that are coming out with evidence and facts, people now know that the theft is happening. The approach that the Election Commission has taken, people have got the message that the two — EC and the BJP — are in collusion. What (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi-ji is saying, the Election commissioner is doing,” he said.
Sahani said people believed they voted for the I.N.D.I.A. parties but when the results came, it was the opposite. “Now, that you (Rahul) have brought out the facts, people know that something is wrong. Their voters also started to believe so,” he said.