On US soil, Rahul Gandhi calls PM Modi a specimen, terms 'Sengol' ceremony a charade (WATCH)
Interacting with a gathering of Indian diaspora in Santa Clara, California, Rahul Gandhi said India is not what is being shown in the media which likes to promote a political narrative that is far from reality, asserting that there is a "huge distortion".
FollowCongress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday termed as a 'distractions' the increased number of seats in the new Parliament and took a swipe at the ruling Narendra Modi government by hinting that the sceptre ('Sengol') was a charade to evade responses on real issues that India currently faces.
Interacting with a gathering of the Indian diaspora in Santa Clara, California, Gandhi said: "All the states of India should feel that there is fairness in the process of negotiation. If I see how they are coming up with the number of 800 and what is the design behind it, will I be able to answer whether I agree with that number 800. I have not seen the way they are calculating it. It (seats) is currently based on population. I think the Parliament House... these are distractions; the real issues in India are unemployment, price rise, the spread of anger and hatred, crumbling education system, and the price of education and healthcare. BJP really cannot discuss them. So they have to do the whole sceptre (Sengol) thing, lying down and doing all that... Aren't you happy, I ain't lying down?"
Gandhi said India is not what is being shown in the media which likes to promote a political narrative that is far from reality, asserting that there is a "huge distortion".
"It was very clear to me in the Yatra that it's in the media's interest to project these things, it helps the BJP. So, don't think that everything you see in the media is the truth," he said, adding, "India is not what the media shows. The media likes to show a particular narrative. It likes to promote a political narrative that is actually not what is going on in India."
The former Wayanad MP accused the Modi government of "misusing" the country's agencies to "threaten" the people.
"The BJP is threatening people and misusing government agencies. The Bharat Jodo Yatra started because all the instruments that we needed to connect with the people were controlled by the BJP-RSS," he said, adding, "We were also finding that in some way, it had become quite difficult to act politically. And that's why we decided to walk from the southernmost tip of India to Srinagar."
He also lampooned Prime Minister Modi, saying that if the latter were to be sitting next to God, Modiji would "start explaining to God how the universe works, and God would be confused 'what have I created'".
"The assault that is taking place in India, is happening on our way of life. The tradition in India that leaders like Guru Nanak and Mahatma Gandhi emphasised was not to be under the impression you know everything. But that is the disease... a group of people in India is absolutely convinced that they know everything. Maybe they think, they know more than God. They could sit down with God and have a conversation, and explain to Him what is going on. Our Prime Minister is one such specimen."
The Congress leader is on a three-city US tour during which he will interact with the Indian diaspora and meet American lawmakers. Last week, Indian Overseas Congress chairperson Sam Pitroda said Gandhi's visit is aimed at promoting shared values and a vision of real democracy.
"The purpose of his (Gandhi's) trip is to connect, interact and begin a new conversation with various individuals, institutions and media, including the Indian diaspora that is growing in numbers in the United States and abroad to promote the shared values and vision of the real democracy with a focus on freedom, inclusion, sustainability, justice, peace and opportunities world over, Pitroda said in a statement.
