Rahul Gandhi in US: 'I don't hate PM Modi, but…'; BJP blasts Cong MP | 10 points

Rahul Gandhi in US: Rahul Gandhi, when asked about his "Mohabbat Ki Dukaan" slogan, said he disagrees with PM Modi's point of view but doesn't hate him.

Rahul Gandhi in US news updates: Rahul Gandhi of the Congress said he doesn't hate the Prime Minister Narendra Modi but only disagrees with his point of view. The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha was interacting with students and faculty at Georgetown University in Washington, DC, on Monday (local time) during his four-day visit to the US.

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi during an interaction with students at Georgetown University, Washington DC, USA, on Monday (local time), (PTI)

Rahul Gandhi also said India essentially, is an idea of mixing and merging, while alleging that Bharatiya Janata Party and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh have the “misunderstanding” of seeing India as a bunch of separate things.

"India at heart, is a union of languages, traditions, histories, religion, everything... When you have lunch here, you get first course, second course. We don't get that, we get a thali, and everything placed in it... It's a jumble and every food has the same value. So this idea of mixing and merging is in India," Rahul Gandhi said.

“When Indian people go to their religious places, they merge with their deity. This is the nature of India. The misunderstanding that the BJP and RSS have is they think that India is a whole bunch of separate things. So we don't need to redefine anything, it's already there,” Rahul Gandhi said.

On being asked about the idea of ‘love’ in reference to his "Mohabbat Ki Dukaan" slogan, the Congress leader said he disagrees with Prime Minister Modi's point of view but doesn't hate him or consider him as his enemy.

“You will be surprised, but I don't actually hate Mr Modi. He has got a point of view, fine. I don't agree with his point of view but I don't hate him. In many moments, I empathise with him. I don't think like he is my enemy. He has a different point of view, I have a different point of view. I have empathy and compassion for what he is doing,” Rahul Gandhi said.

The Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha is currently on a four-day visit to the United States. He addressed the prestigious Georgetown University and another event in Herndon, a Virginia suburb of Washington DC on Monday.

Rahul Gandhi in US: 10 points

1. Rahul Gandhi has said the results of the Lok Sabha elections in India this summer destroyed the "idea of Modi" and the “fear” created by the prime minister vanished, becoming "history".
2. Rahul Gandhi also alleged the Lok Sabha elections were not fought on a level playing field and claimed that the ruling coalition led by the BJP had collapsed, breaking “right down the middle”.
3. Responding to a question, Rahul Gandhi said halfway through the campaign, Prime Minister Modi didn't think he would get anywhere near 300 or 400 seats.
4. Criticising the RSS for their policies and vision of India, the Congress leader said, “What the RSS is basically saying is that certain states are inferior to other states. Certain languages are inferior to other languages. Certain religions are inferior to other religions. Certain communities are inferior to other communities. This is what the fight is about.”
5. Gandhi also said that the BJP has no "understanding" of India. “India is called a union of states. And in the Constitution, it's written clearly. India, that is Bharat, is a union of states. It means it's a union of languages, traditions, histories, etc. They say this is not a union. These are separate things. Among these, only one is very important. And whose headquarters is in Nagpur,” he said, in a veiled reference to the RSS.
6. Rahul Gandhi said the Congress will think of scrapping reservations when India is a fair place, which is not the case right now. “We will think of scrapping reservations when India is a fair place. And India is not a fair place,” Gandhi told students at the university here in response to a question on reservation and how long it would continue.
7. When asked about the Uniform Civil Code, Gandhi said he would comment on it only after he knows what is BJP's proposal. “The BJP is proposing a uniform civil code. We haven't seen it. We have no idea what they're talking about. For us to comment on it doesn't make sense. When they pull it out, then we'll have a look and we'll comment on it,” he said.
8. Union minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has taken a potshot at the Congress MP over his statements in Washington DC saying that tarnishing the country's image abroad is a crime like treason and no patriot can do this. "Rahul Gandhi is the Leader of Opposition (LoP) and he is also accountable for the country. Going out of the country and tarnishing the country's image is a crime like treason, no patriot can do this. But Rahul ji seems to have become frustrated with the Congress after losing for the third time in a row and is venting his frustration out in America by spoiling the country's image," Shivraj Singh Chouhan told ANI.
9. Reacting to the Leader of Opposition's remarks on “Sikhs”, the BJP challenged the Congress leader to repeat in India what he said about the Sikhs in Virginia and said then they will file a case against him and drag him to the court. BJP leader RP Singh slammed Rahul Gandhi and said 3000 Sikhs were massacred in Delhi and this happened when Congress was in power.
10. BJP spokesperson ANS Prasad suggested that Rahul Gandhi should join RSS and undergo training with the Sangh to gain a deeper insight into the RSS. "It's incorrect for Rahul Gandhi to comment on the RSS without a proper understanding of the organisation. In my previous statement, I suggested that he should join the RSS and undergo training to gain a deeper insight. A news article focusing on this aspect would have been more effective. If given the chance, Rahul Gandhi should consider joining the RSS to broaden his perspective," Prasad said.