Rahul Gandhi slammed the Modi govt's handling of the Jantar Mantar protests over the NEET-UG leak. He said BJP's philosophy is to impose order while Congress's job is to let India express itself and "break that order".

'Our Job Is to Make India Express Itself'

Hitting out at the Modi government over its handling of the Jantar Mantar protests over the NEET-UG paper leak, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday alleged that BJP's "political philosophy is to impose an order on India that benefits them and certain other people" and that "our job is to make India express itself".

Addressing the Ratchnatmak Congress National Convention here, Rahul Gandhi spoke in an interactive way and said the Congress would seek to "break the order" sought to be imposed by the BJP.

Parallels with Suppressed Voices

"What was happening at Jantar Mantar is that students want to express themselves. They are in pain, and they want to express themselves, and the government says no. We are going to create order at Jantar Mantar. You cannot express yourselves," he said.

Gandhi, who is Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, also recalled his interaction with the family of a rape victim, drawing parallels with the protest situation. "Today, a lady came to me whose daughter was raped and killed in Uttarakhand four years ago. She's crying, she's trying to express herself, and the system says, sorry, we're not going to allow you to express yourself because it will create disorder if you express yourself. So their job and their political philosophy is to impose an order on India, an order that benefits them and certain other people. And our job is to make India express itself and break that order," the Congress leader added.

The CJP-led protest at Jantar Mantar ended after the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan as Education Minister. Opposition parties in Parliament demanded a statement from Home Minister Amit Shah on "police action" against the protestors.

Rahul Gandhi on RSS: 'Fighting a Bunch of Jokers'

The Congress leader accused the RSS of not having an understanding of contemporary India. "I can understand if you are fighting the British Empire and suddenly you say, I'm feeling a bit scared. But you're fighting a bunch of jokers. How can you feel scared? You're literally fighting a bunch of jokers, clowns who have no idea about our philosophy, no idea about our history. I can naturally say this about my friends in the RSS. It's obvious to me," he said.

"In fact, it's obvious to most people that these people have no understanding of India. Why? Because somebody who cannot connect with India as it is today cannot understand India. To understand India, you can't understand India 3,000 years ago. You have to understand it today, right now. And to understand it today, the only way to understand it today is to understand its expression," he added.

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