On the second day of his Bharat Joda Yatra, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday said the fight in India today was not between one political party and another, but a fight between the structure of the Indian state and the opposition.
Alleging that the BJP had taken control of all the institutions and inserted their people in most of those institutions such as the CBI, Enforcement Directorate and the Income-Tax department, Mr. Gandhi said, “we are not fighting anymore against a political party.”
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“This is a difficult fight,” he said during an interaction with journalists at Puliyoorkurichi in Kanniyakumari district.
“The media is not with the Opposition. Not because you do not want to be, but because you are under pressure or your owners have particular relationship. So, this is not an easy fight. And a lot of people do not want to fight. It is easier to make peace with the BJP. Fold hands in front of them and your life will be easier,” Mr. Gandhi lamented.
“Unfortunately, this is not my training and this is not my character. My character is to fight for certain idea of India, certain notions of the country and many people in the Congress party are convinced of this fact. That is really what the fight is,” he reiterated.
Asked whether the battle of ideology had entered a decisive phase with the beginning of the yatra, he said it had been going on for a “couple of thousand years” now between two visions. “I think it will continue. In India, there have always been two visions. One is rigid and controlling and other is plural and open-minded. We are playing our role,” he asserted.
“The idea behind the yatra was to connect with the people and listen to the people to understand what they are facing. The idea is also to communicate to them a few things. Communicate the fact that India has changed. The institutional framework of India has been captured and there is an attempt to impose one vision while the country has multiple visions,” he said.
Asked about the criticism levelled by the BJP, he said, “Of course the BJP will have an opinion. For us in the Congress, this is a journey. An attempt at understanding what is going on on the ground in India and an attempt at undoing some of the damage the BJP and the RSS have done.
