Indus Valley Times

NEW DELHI,JUNE 2 : Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who is in the US on a three-city tour, spoke on the unity of opposition parties in India and predicted that the outcome of the 2024 general elections will ‘surprise’ people. During an interaction at the National Press Club in Washington on Thursday, Rahul Gandhi expressed confidence about the strength of a united opposition.

“I think the Congress party will do very well in the next two yearsâ€æthere is a hidden undercurrent building. I think (the outcome) will surprise people,” the 52-year-old Gandhi said in Washington DC.

Speaking on the unity of Opposition in India, the former Congress President said, “The Opposition in India is pretty well united. And I think it’s getting more and more united. We’re having conversations with all the Opposition (parties). I think quite a lot of good work is happening.”

Several opposition parties, mostly like-minded, are now joining hands to take on the BJP government in the crucial 2024 Lok Sabha elections. In a bid to unite the opposition against the incumbent BJP, a conclave of “like-minded political parties” will take place on June 12 in Patna. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is likely to preside over the meeting.

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Pointing out the outcome of the Karnataka assembly elections where Congress secured a comfortable majority and ousted the BJP from power, Gandhi said, “Wait and watch the next three or four state electionsâ€æ. which is a better indicator of what’s going to happen.”

“It’s a complicated discussion because there are spaces where we are also competing with (other) Opposition (parties). So, it’s a little bit of give and take as required. But I’m confident that that will happen,” he added.

If you sat PM Modi with God, he’ll start explaining God how universe works: Rahul Gandhi in US

WHAT RAHUL GANDHI SAID ON PRESS FREEDOM?

Rahul Gandhi also answered a range of questions, including on press and religious freedoms in India, the issues faced by the minorities and on the state of the economy.

When asked about the worldwide high levels of popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Gandhi said there is a “definite capture of the institutions of the country. There’s a definite capture of the press in the country. I’m not convinced that you know, I don’t, I don’t believe everything I hear.”

On weakening press freedom in India, he said press freedom is very, very critical for democracy.

“There is a definite capture of institutions and the press in India. I walked across India, from Kanyakumari to Kashmir, and spoke directly to millions of Indian people. They didn’t seem happy to me; there were serious issues with rising unemployment and inflation. There was angst among the people,” Rahul Gandhi said.

“It’s not just press freedom. It’s political access on multiple axis, there is a clamp down on the institutional framework that allowed India to talk, that allowed the Indian people to negotiate…. And that structure that allows the negotiation between India’s people is coming under pressure,” he added.

RAHUL GANDHI UNDER FIRE FOR HIS REMARKS

The ruling BJP has hit out at Rahul Gandhi over his remarks in the United States, saying that the Congress leader does not back down from “insulting the country “on his foreign trips.

Addressing a gathering of the Indian diaspora in Santa Clara, California, Rahul Gandhi said, “The RSS and the BJP are controlling all the instruments of politics in India.”

Taking a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Rahul said, “I think if you sat Modi ji down next to god, Modi ji would start explaining to god how the universe works. And god would get confused that what have I created.”

In a counter-offensive, Union Minister Anurag Thakur said, “Rahul Gandhi on his foreign trips wants to insult the Prime Minister but ends up insulting the country. He doesn’t even consider India as a nation and calls it a union of states. He raises questions over India’s progress. What does he want to achieve on his foreign visits? Is mud-slinging all that he has left to do?”

Clampdown on institutional freedom in India: Rahul Gandhi in US

Rahul Gandhi arrived in the United States on May 30 on a three-city visit. He is slated to conclude his trip with a public gathering in New York on June 4. The interaction would take place at the Javits Center in New York.

Last week, Indian Overseas Congress chairperson Sam Pitroda said Rahul Gandhi’s visit is aimed at promoting shared values and a vision of “real democracy”.

“The purpose of his (Gandhi’s) trip is to connect, interact and begin a new conversation with various individuals, institutions and media, including the Indian diaspora that is growing in numbers in the United States and abroad to promote the shared values and vision of, real democracy with a focus on freedom, inclusion, sustainability, justice, peace and opportunities world over,” Pitroda said in a statement.

-PTI