The former AICC president and Wayanad MP says the BJP and TRS are looting public money and using it to woo the voters.
Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra at Kothur in Telangana's Rangareddy district (Sourced)
TRS leader and Chief Minister K Chandrasekhara Rao is free to consider his party as a national or even international political organisation, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said while categorically ruling out his party having any truck with the “corrupt” TRS in Telangana.
The former AICC president was speaking to reporters after reaching Kothur in the Rangareddy district as part of his Kanniyakumari-to-Kashmir Bharat Jodo Yatra on Monday, 31 October.
“There is no question of the Congress having a tip-up with the TRS. The Congress party has made this very clear. The TRS is creating confusion over the tie-up”, the Congress leader said.
“The Telangana Congress’s combined leadership has a say in any kind of relationship with TRS. Till now the party has accepted their views and we have made our decision based on their opinion”, Gandhi added.
On Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao expanding TRS to the national level, the former Congress president said any leader has the right to view his party in whatever way he wants to see it.
“It is okay if the chief minister of Telangana believes he is heading a national party. He can believe so. It is also acceptable if he believes he is running a global party. These are things he can do and he can imagine,” Gandhi said.
“If he thinks he is having an international party that will fight the election in the United States or even in China, we are perfectly fine with it,” he further stated.
Chandrasekhar Rao meeting Janata Dal (United) leader and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was not of concern to the Congress, he responded to a question.
“If Nitish Kumar wants to speak to TRS, it is his concern, his desire, and is welcome to do so. We are clear about Telangana. We cannot stand the corruption, the approach, and the attitude of the TRS in looting the people of Telangana, snatching the land from Dalits and tribespeople” he said.
Gandhi accused the TRS of destroying the education sector by privatising it. “We stand diametrically opposite to what the TRS government is doing in the state”, he averred.
He, however, hastened to add that he and the Congress believed that the Opposition parties should work together to defeat the RSS ideology.
Drawing parallels between the TRS and the BJP, he said corruption has been helping both parties to spend hundreds of crores during elections.
“Where is this money coming from? It is through corrupt means and this money is distributed in total disregard of the rules. It shows that these two parties have the same structure. They steal the public money and use it to influence the voters”, Gandhi said.
Sidestepping a specific query on the internal squabbles in the Telangana Congress, Gandhi said the party’s organisational structure allowed such discussion and that the party would unitedly fight the elections.
“The Congress is a democratic party. We are not ruled by a dictatorship. A few days ago, we had an election and democratically elected our president. It (democracy) is in our DNA”, he said, referring to AICC presidential election.
“Discussions in the party are natural. Our leaders will fight together and the Congress will win the election. I don’t have any doubt about it”, Gandhi exuded confidence.
He wondered when other political parties such as the BJP, RSS, and TRS would hold elections to elect their office-bearers.
Gandhi said the Congress has been in favour of the Other Backward Class (OBC) census. The BJP has been opposed to the census.
“It was the Congress government that carried out the socio-economic census in 2011. I am in favour of it. OBC census needs to be made public, and people should have a clear understanding of the Indian population,” he added.
Highlighting the need for taking up the Bharat Jodo Yatra, he said the fight in India is between two ideologies: One seeking to divide the nation and spreading violence, and the other bringing the nation together.
“A lot of damage has been done to the institutional framework of our country. There has been a systematic attack on different institutions. The media is not the only institution that is under attack. The judiciary is under attack. The bureaucracy is under attack”, he stated.
“This is damaging the country. When the Congress party returns to power, we will ensure that these institutions are once again freed from the grasp of RSS and their independence will be maintained”, he averred.
Gandhi said he has been toying with the idea of the Bharat Jodo Yatra ever since he was 25-26 years old.
“I wanted to embark on the yatra a couple of years ago but had to postpone it due to Covid-19. I wanted to walk across India, and a few party colleagues, too, suggested the same”, the 52-year-old MP from Wayanad, Kerala, said.
“This is the way to fight against the BJP and the RSS and the Congress will benefit from it. This is my journey to know India. The Congress will win the election in Telangana,” he added.
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