Rahul Gandhi accuses BJP‑RSS of sidelining English to limit opportunities for the poor

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has sharply criticized the BJP and its ideological ally, the RSS, alleging that their recent discouragement of English amounts to a deliberate strategy to deny poor children access to better opportunities.

Posting on X, Gandhi argued that “English is not a bridge, not power… it is a tool to break the chains.” 

In a video shared online, Gandhi highlighted a double standard: while RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat urges people to "not speak in English but in Hindi," he noted that the children of BJP and RSS leaders often study abroad.

“They want to keep English education for their own, while shutting the doors of high-paying jobs, global platforms and boardrooms on the rest,” Gandhi claimed. 

His remarks came a day after Union Home Minister Amit Shah stated that English speakers in India would soon “feel ashamed,” arguing that India’s culture and history cannot be fully grasped through a “foreign language.” 

Rahul Gandhi emphasized that the need for English in today's world is “as important as one’s mother tongue” for employment opportunities and confidence-building.

He urged a balanced educational approach: safeguard India’s indigenous languages while ensuring every child learns English “to compete with the world, to give every child an equal opportunity.” 

The pushback won support from opposition leaders including West Bengal’s R Bindu and V Sivankutty, who denounced Shah’s stance as “condemnable,” and TMC MPs Derek O'Brien and Sagarika Ghose, who underscored English's role as a national link language and a vehicle of aspiration.