In Nagercoil: Let them criticize, I don’t mind. I am not in the mood to make peace with the BJP with folded hands. Now the fight is between the Indian government structure and the opposition. Everyone understands that. It is not an easy fight, there is a realization that it is difficult – these are the words of Rahul Gandhi. He was answering questions from media persons in Tamil Nadu during his trip yesterday. In the media debate, Rahul Gandhi openly answered not only regarding the journey, but also regarding the current state of the country, regarding the party and the fight once morest the BJP. Below are questions from media persons and Rahul Gandhi’s reply:
Question: The BJP is constantly saying that this trip is to save the Congress and its family. What is your response?
Rahul Gandhi: Everyone has an opinion, BJP and RSS have an opinion. They are welcome to leave a comment. They have a point of view and they are welcome. For us, it is a journey, an attempt to understand India’s fundamental situation and undo some of the damage done by the BJP and the RSS. But of course they’ll make fun of it, and I’m not going to put it down.
Question: You will not become AICC presidentbut this journey is driven by contradictionisn’t it?
Rahul Gandhi: Where there is conflict, the Congress party has decided to hold this padayatra across the country. I am a member of the Congress party and agree with the ideology of the Congress party and that is why I am participating in this trip. I see no contradiction in my participation.
Question: The opposition says that the Congress should do the Jodo Yatra first. What is your opinion on that?
Rahul Gandhi: I said the aim of the padayatra was to connect with the people and fight the hatred spread by the BJP and the RSS. It will benefit Congress.
Question: Has the Congress, BJP and RSS battle reached a critical stage through this journey?
Rahul Gandhi: Frankly, this battle has been going on between two different sides for years and will continue. One side is rigid and restrictive, the other is pluralistic and open-minded. I think this war will continue and we are playing our part in this fight.
Question: Senior leaders revolt once morest the party. You lead this journey, why don’t you convince them first?
Rahul Gandhi: BJP has a better way to pressure them than I do. BJP has taken control of all institutions in this country. In these institutions they inserted their people and through these institutions they exerted pressure. You all know how ED and CBI work. We are not fighting an old political party. Now the fight is between the Indian government structure and the opposition. And everyone understands this. This is not an easy fight, but a difficult one. The media is not with the opposition because you are all under pressure and your owners have special connections. A lot of people don’t want to fight and get stuck, it’s easy to make peace with BJP with folded hands. Unfortunately this is not my nature. So I will fight for certain ideas and concepts regarding this country, and there are many like me in Congress.
Question: As you said this trip is to stop polarization and institutional settlement. But what are you doing for political unity??
Rahul Gandhi: The idea of this journey is to connect with the people, listen to them and understand what they are facing. Also, to convey the facts that India has changed, India’s institutional framework has been captured and an attempt is being made to project a vision over this country with multiple perspectives. The Yatra is a step towards that, and while it will also help the unity of the opposition, it is a separate initiative
Question: BJP criticizes India for trying to bind Congress when it destroyed it.?
Rahul Gandhi: Yesterday, I was talking to the kids and there was a girl, maybe 12-14. She asked me the same question, what is the meaning of Bharat Jodo? I asked her a counter question, what is India for you? She replied that Bharat is the people of India living in harmony. Then I asked, if the people of India live in harmony, is it Bharat or not? She said no, it is not Bharat. It is something else. So the question is, are the people of India living harmoniously? As far as I might see, from what that little girl might see, what came to mind was that India was not living in harmony. The country is divided on the basis of religion, on the basis of state, people are unemployed. Two or three big businessmen are getting rich, and now we have the third richest man in the world, and he is going to be the richest once more very soon. A close confidant of the country’s leader. You have massive inflation and they are not consistent. For me, India is a dialogue with the people, which is broken and needs to be restarted.
Question: You are not taking over the post of Congress President but are leading this journey, why?
Rahul Gandhi: Just want to clarify that I am not leading this trip, just a participant. I made it very clear to Jayaram Rameshji and KC Venugopalji that I am not leading but participating. Whether I will be president or not will be very clear following the Congress presidential election. If I don’t become president, you can ask me why, and only then will I answer it.
Question: What are you doing to strengthen Congress??
Rahul Gandhi: As I said, I think this trip will help the Congress party, it will not harm the party.
Question: Are you going to form a front once morest BJP by uniting all the opposition parties??
Rahul Gandhi: It is the responsibility of the entire opposition to stay together, not just the Congress but everyone has a stake in it.
Question: You are a person who only asks questions to the government. Then why don’t you promise to bring back all the properties sold by the BJP government?
Rahul Gandhi: We are once morest the ideas of unfair monopoly, not once morest corporations. If there is injustice we will definitely question it.
The question BJP is changing names of places, what do you have to say?
Rahul Gandhi: Those who have no vision for the future will only change their name. They mentally This is done to distract people because they are bankrupt. Nothing from the past is going to save your future.
Question: What is the reaction of the people you meet on this journey??
Rahul Gandhi: People are unanimous regarding inflation and unemployment
Question: Do you have any message for Modi??
Rahul Gandhi: No I have no message to give him.
Question: Visiting more election states on this trip?
Rahul Gandhi: No, I don’t think so, we give equal time to each state. This is Bharat Jodo Yatra.
Question: Are you running for president? Why not decide yet?
Rahul Gandhi: I made up my mind. You will get the answer following the Congress president election. I decided to join this trip because it was good for me personally to have a better experience. So I decided to join this to understand regarding this beautiful country.
