Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday said those who indulge in the politics of falsehood will never understand Mahatma Gandhi’s ideal of truth and alleged that “some people wanted Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) to become synonymous with India in the place of Gandhiji.”
Without directly naming the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Congress chief told a gathering of party leaders and workers at Rajghat, Mahatma Gandhi’s memorial, that “the Mahatma’s soul would be pained by what has been happening in India in the last few years.”
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“How can those who pursue the politics of falsehood understand that Gandhi ji was the worshipper of truth? How can those who can do anything for power understand that Gandhi ji was a worshipper of non-violence? How can those thirsty for power understand the meaning of Gandhi ji’s Swaraj? Those who claim to be supreme at the first opportunity, how can they understand the value of selfless service of Gandhi ji?”asked Ms Gandhi.
“Despite all this, if India has not been distracted it is because its foundation is laid on the values of Gandhi ji. India and Gandhi ji are synonymous with each other. It is a different thing that some people are adamant on reversing this. They want the RSS and not Gandhi ji to become the symbol of India,” she alleged. “I want to tell them clearly... there cannot be any thought except Gandhiji’s all-inclusive system, that includes the composite culture, civilisation and society of India.”
On Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th birth anniversary, Delhi Congress organised a padayatra (foot march) from its office at the Deendayal Upadhyaya Marg to Rajghat and after which an oath was administered to Congress to achieve Mahatma’s dreams by keeping faith in constitutional values.
While former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi led the march, Ms. Gandhi addressed the gathering at Rajghat in Hindi.
She said only the Congress governments have followed the path of Gandhi ji by providing jobs, education and facilities to farmers, accomplishments which are unparalleled.
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“I want to tell those who decide the country’s destiny that Gandhiji is a symbol of love not hatred, he is a symbol of harmony not confrontation, he is a symbol of democracy and not autocracy. No matter what others claim, the Congress is the only party that has followed the principles of Gandhiji and will continue to do so,” Ms. Gandhi said.
“Be it Jawaharlal Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Narasimha Rao or Manmohan Singh, all struggled to build a new India and establish new paradigms of progress”, she added.
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