Former Congress President and leader of opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi is in the United States of America. In this visit he is attending several public events and interacting with journalists, students, intellectuals and politicians. As expected the statement given by Rahul Gandhi in those events has received sharp reaction from the BJP and the opposition. Rahul Gandhi meeting with some controversial people known for their anti-India stances has also come under attack in India.
Now, Rahul Gandhi is the leader of opposition in Lok Sabha and his every word and action will receive more scrutiny and sharp reactions both negative and positive. So, the reaction on his statement is obvious.
Let's understand why some of this statement may be problematic not only for India but also for Congress and Rahul Gandhi himself.
Sikh rights
At a convention of Indians in Washington Rahul Gandhi asked the name of a turbaned person in the gathering and said, "The fight is about whether a Sikh is going to be allowed to wear his turban in India or a kada in India. Or he, as a Sikh, is going to be able to go to a gurdwara. That's what the fight is about. And not just for him, for all religions…the fight is about what type of India we are going to have.”
This statement of Rahul Gandhi is not in good taste and it may create the divide in the society specially in Punjab. It will be used by anti-India forces. Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun endorsed Gandhi's remarks on Sikh community in India.
BJP will do all-out attack on Rahul Gandhi over this statement. It will be tough for congress party to defend this statement. It is a matter of safety, security, unity and integrity of this country.
On Reservation
The Congress MP's comment on reservation came on Tuesday when he was interacting with the students and faculty members of Georgetown University in Washington DC.
‘The Congress Party will think of scrapping reservations when India is a fair place, which is not the case right now,’ Rahul Gandhi had said.
BSP Chief Mayawati and several BJP top leaders reacted very sharply over this statement and accused Rahul Gandhi of trying to conspire to remove the reservation.
Realising the potential ramification of his statement Rahul Gandhi was forced to issue the clarification. “Yesterday someone misrepresented my statement that I am against reservation. But let me make it clear – I am not against reservation. We will take reservation beyond the limit of 50 per cent,” Gandhi said at the National Press Club in the US.
Divide in Society
"And the problem is, these people don't understand India... India is called a union of states. In the Constitution it is written clearly- India, that is Bharat, is a union of states. It means it is a union of languages, traditions, histories, music, or dance," Rahul Gandhi said.
This is the old line of Rahul Gandhi. This statement will create regional chauvinism and friction in society. His statement will only strengthen the dividing India forces.
During a discussion in Dallas, Texas, Rahul Gandhi, Congress MP and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, provided his interpretation of the term 'Devta'.
"Devta means a person whose internal feelings are exactly the same as his external expression, meaning he is a completely transparent being," he explained. "If a person tells me everything he believes or thinks and expresses it openly, that’s the definition of a Devta."
This showed that Rahul Gandhi has least care for Hindu sentiment.
Meeting with anti-India forces
During this visit Rahul Gandhi had meeting with several politicians, academicians, journalists and other influential people. He also had meeting with journalist Mushfiqul Fazal Ansarey and US Congresswoman Ilhan Omar.
Mushfiqul Fazal Ansarey is a Bangladeshi journalist who is living in exile in US and infamous for asking anti-India question in White House and State Department press conferences.
US Congresswoman Ilhan Omar is not only a known anti-India parliamentarian but also a hard core islamist. She is in support of Pakistan over Kashmir issue. She had also visited Pakistan Occupied Kashmir on the invitation of Pakistan government. She is not only anti-India but she also has relation with ISIS and other Islamic terror organisation.
Rahul Gandhi and Congress party should explain the reason for his meeting with such rabid anti-India forces. This is miscalculation on part of Rahul Gandhi and his advisors. These types of meetings and statements are not going to benefit him.
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