Indians have lost fear of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP after the party failed to get a majority on its own in the recent 2024 Lok Sabha election, said Congress MP and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, who is currently on his three-day trip to the US beginning Sep 9.
"The other thing that happened was that the fear of the BJP vanished," Gandhi said during an interaction with members of the Indian community in Dallas, Texas.
"Within minutes of the election result, nobody in India was scared of the BJP or the Prime Minister of India," he added.
Gandhi said that the outcome of the election was not a victory for himself or the Congress party, but it was the projection of the will of the people in India.
The people of India stood up to the government’s perceived efforts to undermine the Constitution and democratic values.
"We are not going to accept an attack on our religion, on our state," Gandi asserted.
In his address, Gandhi said his role was to inject values of love, respect, and humility into Indian politics.
"I think what is missing in our political systems and across parties is love, respect, and humility," he said.
"Respect to everybody who is trying to build an India, not just the most powerful, but the weakest and humility, not in others, but in oneself. I think that is how I see my own," he added.
ideological differences
Gandhi also emphasized the ideological differences between Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the BJP’s parent organization, and Congress.
"The RSS believes that India is one idea, and we believe that India is a multiplicity of ideas," he said.
The Congress MP said that his vision of India includes participation from people of all backgrounds—regardless of caste, religion, language, or tradition.
"This is the fight, and the fight was crystallized in the election when millions of people in India clearly understood that the Prime Minister of India was attacking the Constitution of India," he added.
Gandhi claimed that his message, centered on the protection of India’s Constitution, resonated with the public during the election campaign.
"What people understood in the election clearly, and I saw it happening, was that when I raised the Constitution, people understood what I was saying," he said.
"Most importantly, what they understood was that anybody who is attacking the Constitution of India is also attacking our religious tradition," he added.
Gandhi’s visit to the US is part of a broader outreach effort, including interaction with students at the University of Texas and US lawmakers.
His three-day visit comes ahead of the significant US presidential election in November and assembly elections in Haryana and Jammu & Kashmir.
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