New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said Wednesday that India’s reputation has taken a ‘massive hit’. The country’s biggest strength, its soft power, has been ‘shattered’ by the BJP and the RSS. The comments by Rahul Gandhi came amid the ongoing farmers’ protests. He said that the farmers’ issue needs to be resolved as soon as possible. The government needs to listen to the farmers.
At a press conference here Rahul was asked if India’s image at the international level has taken a beating with barricading at Delhi’s borders. “Absolutely, the reputation of India has taken a massive hit. Not only on how we are treating our farmers, but on how we treat our people, how we treat journalists,” Rahul said. “Our biggest strength, you can call it soft power, has been shattered by the BJP-RSS, their mindset,” he added.
Rahul also referred to the multi-layered barricading and roadblocks at protest sites. The former Congress chief asked why the national capital was being converted into a ‘fortress’. He asserted that farmers work hard for India and should not be treated in this manner.
Rahul alleged there is no leadership in India anymore. “My constant request to the prime minister is ‘do your job’. Your job is not to sell this country to one per cent of the population. Your job is to protect the ‘kisaan’ (farmers) who are standing outside (Delhi). Go hold their hand, give them a hug and tell them ‘what is it that I can do for you’,” Rahul said.
“So the PM has basically given up, he is now on a different plane. We are going somewhere else now. India is not being run properly. It is my request to the prime minister that please gather up your courage and run the country,” Rahul added.
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The Congress leader strongly criticised the Union Budget also. He said it was for one per cent of the population. He said the budget gave a wrong message to China by not significantly raising defence allocation.
Rahul said the conditions in India are ‘dangerous’ that require Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take quick action. Coming down heavily on Modi, Rahul alleged there was no leadership in the country.
“It (conditions) requires that the prime minister put money immediately into the hands of our people and revive the economy. It requires that he protects the small and medium businesses who give us jobs. It requires a clear message to China that ‘you cannot do this with us, you cannot be sitting inside our land’ and expect that nothing is going to happen,” asserted Rahul.
“My expectation from the Budget was that government will provide support to 99 per cent of India’s population. But this Budget is for one per cent population. You (the government) snatched away money from people in small and medium industry, workers, farmers, forces, and put it in the pockets of 5-10 people,” he alleged.