The Congress party’s approach is in sync with the Narendra Modi government on major foreign policy issues, including India’s relationship with the U.S.; no talks with Pakistan unless the flow of terrorism is stopped; and the rise of extremist elements in Bangladesh and Israel, the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said on September 11, 2024
Mr. Gandhi, who concluded his four-day trip to the U.S., made these observations during an interaction with journalists at the prestigious National Press Club at Washington.
While Mr. Gandhi talked of continuity on foreign policy issues, he was sharp in his criticism of the Modi government’s handling of the border face-off with China.
“We have got Chinese troops occupying land the size of Delhi in Ladakh. I think that’s a disaster. Media doesn’t like to write about it,” he said, adding, “How would America react if a neighbour occupied 4,000 square kilometres of your territory? Would any President be able to get away with saying that he has handled that well?”
However, the LoP endorsed the government’s position on Pakistan. “We are not going to accept Pakistan carrying out terror acts in our country. We are just not going to accept it. And until they keep doing that, there are going to be problems between us,” he said. Asked if the Kashmir issue is holding the two South Asian nations away from a dialogue, Mr. Gandhi replied in the negative.
“I don’t see Mr. Modi is diverting very much from our approach with the U.S. I don’t see ourselves changing direction very much from what he’s doing,” he said, indicating a bi-partisan approach towards the U.S.
Rahul Gandhi in the U.S.
Covering a wide spectrum of topics, the Opposition leader also talked about the state of democracy in India and how its fighting back, his party’s difficulty in fighting the elections with “frozen bank accounts”, and being “the only person in Indian history to get a prison sentence for defamation”.
“I can say to you that Indian democracy for the last 10 years was broken. It’s fighting back, but it was broken,” Mr. Gandhi said.
“We fought an election with our bank accounts frozen. I don’t know any democracy where that’s happened. Maybe that type of thing happened in Syria or used to happen in Iraq. But we literally sat during our election and spoke to our treasurer and he says, well, we have no money. Now, you can have a resilient voter. You still need to run campaigns. You still need to have conversations. You still need to have meetings,” he said.
But the Opposition leader made it clear that the fight for democracy was India’s internal fight. “The fight for democracy in India is an Indian fight. With all due respect, it has nothing to do with anybody else. It’s our problem. And we’ll take care of it. We will make sure that democracy is secure,” Mr. Gandhi said.
Published - September 11, 2024 11:40 am IST
