WASHINGTON (Diya TV) —Rahul Gandhi, chief of India’s Congress party, levied sharp criticisms against the Indian government on their practice of democracy, media freedom, and economic policies during a nearly weeklong visit to the US to meet with American lawmakers and his supporters in the diaspora.
He began his speech at the National Press Club in Washington by saying that Indian politics changed drastically in 2014 and termed it an era of blunt attacks on the democratic institutions. “I think politics in India changed very dramatically in 2014. We entered a phase of politics that we haven’t seen in India before, aggressive, attacking the foundations of our democratic structure,” he said.
He further claimed that the media had been suppressed, institutions controlled, and opposition targeted by government agencies. According to him, this is what finally forced the Congress party to adopt a more direct method of engaging with the Indian public. “Media was suppressed, institutions were controlled, agencies were attacking the opposition, governments were being overthrown, and we found that literally the only way was to go directly to the people of India,” he alleged.
Equally prominent was criticism against the RSS and BJP in Gandhi’s media engagement of the U.S. He described an ideological war between the Congress party and its rivals. “There’s an ideological war taking place in India between the Congress and our partners and the BJP and the RSS. There are two completely different visions of India.
Apart from this, Gandhi also spoke on the issue of caste-based reservation and affirmative action. He repeated his stand of increasing reservations beyond 50% amidst raging debates on caste and social justice.
Gandhi used a jarring analogy to compare the political difficulties experienced by the Congress party with conditions in authoritarian states. “We fought an election with our bank accounts frozen. Now, I don’t know any democracy where that’s happened. Maybe, you know, that type of thing happens in Syria or used to happen in Iraq,” he said.
At a meet and greet hosted by Congressman Brad Sherman at the Rayburn House Office Building, Gandhi met with U.S. lawmakers Rep. Jonathan Jackson, Rep. Ro Khanna, Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, Rep. Barbara Lee, Rep. Shri Thanedar, Rep. Jesús G. “Chuy” García, Rep. Ilhan Omar, Rep. Hank Johnson, Rep. Jan Schakowsky. No details were released about what was discussed during this closed door session.
Gandhi also met with Mushfiqul Fazal Ansaray, a controversial Bangladeshi journalist. Ansaray has faced criticism for promoting disinformation and has legal issues in Bangladesh. Ansaray is seen as a key figure in raising issues related to Indian politics during press briefings with U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller.
