Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Sunday said the Congress is still a "very strong" party in the country and losing elections will not be the end of it, as has been seen in the past.
Asserting that all that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had warned the government about was turning out to be true, Gehlot said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should take the Opposition seriously and act accordingly.
The chief minister was speaking at a press conference here.
The Congress faced a massive defeat in the 1977 general elections, even Indira Gandhi had lost. But the party made a strong comeback and formed the government, Gehlot said.
"Losing elections does not mean it is the end of the Congress," he said, adding that the party is "very strong" even today and has a presence across the country.
His remarks came in the backdrop of the Congress' drubbing in the recent Assembly polls in five states. The party failed to win any of the states and lost Punjab to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
Such an environment has been created in the country as if the Congress is the enemy, the chief minister said.
There is talk of making a Congress-free India but it will not happen, even for the next 100 years. Those who talk about a Congress-free India are not on the right path. There is a difference between their words and deeds. They do politics in the name of religion and caste, he said.
Gehlot further said the prime minister should listen to opposition leaders.
"The Opposition can only give you a warning. Whatever Rahul Gandhi had warned the government about is turning out to be true. So Modi should understand that whatever an opposition leader says should be taken seriously," he said.
Gehlot said whenever an opposition leader says something to him, he examines it to see if it has merit.
"I am the chief minister, if someone from the Opposition says something, then I see and read it. If it has some merit, then it is my moral responsibility to implement it in the larger public interest," he said.(With PTI inputs)
