In a scathing attack on the BJP and the RSS, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said those who bow before the wrong decisions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi are the ones who follow Hindutva.
He said those who face challenges head on are Hindus and those who run away from problems out of fear are the ones who follow Hindutva. "Those who believe in the ideology of Hindutva bow before anyone -- they bowed before the British and they bow before money because there is no truth in their hearts," Gandhi said in a virtual address to a Congress training camp organised by the Rajasthan unit of the party.
He also said a prime minister from the Congress would have resigned for failing to discharge his duty had China occupied Indian territory. "Whereas the RSS people are engaged in hiding the violation of India's borders by China under the Modi regime," a release issued by the Congress quoted the former party chief as saying. Gandhi said he had once asked a gathering of Congress workers whether there was anyone among them who had run away from home and no one answered in the affirmative, adding that if the same question is asked at an RSS meeting, everyone would say "yes". He said a person who runs away cannot fulfil any duty.
The Congress leader alleged that those associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) are spreading hatred and fear in the country. "We will not go back even an inch in our struggle. This is our 'Lakshmanrekha'. The BJP's 'Lakshmanrekha' is power and for the sake of power, it has always been changing the 'Lakshmanrekha' of its ideology, whereas the 'Lakshmanrekha' for the Congress is truth and we Congressmen stand by the truth," he said.
Gandhi said all religions, including Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism and Christianity lead to the path of truth but "Hindutva" is a means to grab power. He said the country's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, was jailed for 12 to 15 years but neither hatred nor vengeance overpowered him, whereas Vinayak Damodar Savarkar has mentioned in his book that he was most pleased when five of his companions together beat up a Muslim man with sticks.
The Congress leader said no one can call Mahatma Gandhi and Nehru cowards because there was neither fear nor hatred in their hearts. Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary in-charge for Rajasthan Ajay Maken and state Congress chief Govind Singh Dotasra also addressed the three-day training camp, which concluded on Tuesday.
-With PTI Inputs
