‘Divisive politics’ damaging India’s name

CONGRESS vice-president Rahul Gandhi took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, saying that “divisive politics” was ruining India’s reputation for peace and harmony.

Speaking at an event organised by the Indian National Overseas Congress, Gandhi said India had many religions and different languages and people had been able to live happily together because of the ideas of the Congress.

He said the biggest thing that people asked him during his visit to the US was: “What happened to the tolerance that prevailed in India? What happened to the harmony?”

He said: “For thousands of years, India has had a reputation of peace and harmony. This is being challenged. There are forces that are dividing the country. It is very dangerous. Divisive politics is going on and it has to be fought.”

He said India’s reputation in the world was important and that people were looking to them.

“Many countries in a violent world are looking towards India and saying maybe India has the answer for the 21st century, maybe India has the answer for peaceful coexistence. So we cannot afford to lose our most powerful asset. Our most powerful asset is that 1.3 billion people lived happily, non-violently, peacefully. This is something that as Congress people, every single one of us has to defend.”

He said the freedom fighters and people who sought to transform India had stood for the truth.

“It does not matter what is standing against them. When they believe in something and are convinced that it is truth, they stand up for it. That is the Congress idea.”

Gandhi termed the Non-Resident Indians (NRI) “the backbone of the country” and said he was keen to involve them in the work of the party to discuss its vision forward. – IANS