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'My mic was switched off in Parliament': Rahul Gandhi on 'assault on India'
BJP MPs can not have an open discussion, Rahul Gandhi said as he was virtually interacting with Brown University's Prof Ashutosh Varshney.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said all institutions of India are under constant assault. Interacting with Prof Ashutosh Varshney, a faculty of Brown University, Rahul said, "To me, India is many different, diverse viewpoints...Modern India to me is essentially an ongoing negotiation between those ideas and cultures. Our founding fathers created an architecture of that negotiation through various institutions."
"What I see is a determined attack on these institutions," he said, as he was asked to explain his earlier comment which he had made during his conversation with Cornell University professKaushik Basu when he said "electoral politics in India is no longer a fight for power, it's a fight for India".
Elaborating on that, Rahul said, "There is not a single institution which is not under attack. To give you a more nuanced answer, my mic was switched off in Parliament. The essence of Parliament is that I am allowed to speak. But the television doesn't show what is going on in Parliament. BJP MPs can not have an open discussion, they have told me. It is a straightforward top-down thing. Same with the judiciary, press. It's a constant onslaught."
"Before 2014, there was an assault on institutions but it was subversive. It was not out in the open. But after 2014, it is legitimised. That's why it's an attack on India," he said.
Talking about the 'shrinking' space for debate in India's politics, Rahul said, "Congress represents 20 per cent of our population. Other opposition parties together represent much bigger than what PM Modi and his party represent, but there is no room for negotiation, no room for conversation. But as a politician, I require institutional support."
On being asked to comment on the status of 'electoral autocracy' given to India by a US-based organisation recently, Rahul said, "We don't need a stamp from them. The situation is much worse than they imagine."
Explaining his point, he said electoral democracy can not be separated from the institutional framework. "Election is not only about people going to vote and pressing a button. It is about narrative, it is about institutions that make sure that the framework of the country is working properly. It is about a judiciary being fair...Saddam Hussein and Gaddafi used to have elections. They used to win them. They were actually voting. It's not like that there was no voting but there was no institutional framework to protect that vote."
