During his three-day visit to the United States, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, launched a scathing critique of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the ideological mentor of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Addressing the Indian diaspora community in Herndon, Virginia, Gandhi alleged that the RSS promotes a divisive ideology that undermines the unity and diversity of India.
He stated that the RSS’s view is that certain states, languages, religions, and communities are inherently inferior to others. “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, and certain communities are inferior to other communities…This is what the fight is about. We are of the opinion whether you are from Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan….. all of you have your history, tradition and language. Every single one of them is as important as any other one,” Gandhi emphasized.
Gandhi further argued that the RSS’s ideology translates into discriminatory practices in political spheres, citing the example of language suppression. “What would you do if somebody told you that you cannot speak Tamil? How would you feel? How would you react? That is the ideology of the RSS- That Tamil, Marathi, Bengali, Manipuri- are all inferior languages. It ends up in the polling booth, Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha,” he asserted.
Gandhi, who also met with students at Georgetown University before the diaspora event, emphasized the need for an inclusive India where people are free to believe and express themselves without fear. “But the fight is about what type of India we are going to have. Are we going to have an India where people are allowed to believe what they want to believe?… Or we are going to have an India where only few limited people can decide what is going to happen and the problem is that these people don’t understand India,” he questioned.
He also took aim at the BJP, claiming that the ‘fear’ of Prime Minister Narendra Modi among the public has dissipated after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The BJP, despite winning the most seats, fell short of a majority, failing to cross the 300-seat mark. The Congress emerged as the second-largest party with 99 seats, while the INDIA alliance ended with approximately 294 seats in the Lok Sabha.
Gandhi’s remarks during his US visit highlight the ongoing political discourse in India, where the RSS, the BJP, and the Congress engage in a fierce battle of ideologies and policies. The Congress leader’s criticism of the RSS and his assertion about the diminishing ‘fear’ of Modi will undoubtedly fuel further political debates in the run-up to the upcoming state elections and the 2029 Lok Sabha elections.
