Colachel (Tamil Nadu), April 20
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Monday asserted that the Congress and its allies are engaged in an ideological battle with the BJP-RSS over the idea of India. He noted that the BJP and the RSS were trying to impose a singular culture, language and tradition. He said, BJP wants a puppet CM and a remote-controlled government in Tamil Nadu. INDIA alliance will never allow this to happen, he asserted, adding, Tamil Nadu will vote to protect its identity and dignity.
Addressing a huge public meeting here, Rahul Gandhi said the Constitution guarantees equal respect and representation to all states, languages and cultures, adding that the BJP seeks to centralise power and “rule states, including Tamil Nadu, from Delhi.” Maintaining that the Congress and its allies were fighting an ideological battle with the BJP and the RSS, who believe in a fundamentally different concept of India, Gandhi said, “we believe that India is a Union of States”. He noted that in the Constitution, it is clearly stated – India, that is Bharat, is a Union of States, and said this means that all states, all languages and all traditions should be treated equally.
The BJP, he added, doesn’t think like this and believes that one tradition, one language, one history should override all other traditions, languages and history. “This is what the fight is about,” he said. He accused the BJP of attempting to weaken federal principles and said that the saffron party was trying to gain indirect control over Tamil Nadu through the AIADMK, which he described as having become a “hollow shell”.
Gandhi referred to the recent legislative move of the government, saying it tried to conceal the delimitation exercise within women’s reservations bill, aimed at reducing the parliamentary representation of southern and smaller states. He termed it an “anti-national action” that his party opposed and defeated in Parliament.
Highlighting Tamil Nadu’s governance model, he praised its legacy of social justice, education reforms and welfare initiatives. “In the last 5 years, the government of Tamil Nadu had a fantastic CM breakfast scheme for children across the state and also gave Rs 1,000 to 1.31 crore women across the state,” he said, adding that the DMK-led alliance would continue on this path and expand such schemes.
Gandhi announced proposals including increasing financial assistance to women to Rs 2,000 per month, extending similar support to senior citizens and differently-abled persons, free property registration for first-time women buyers, filling government vacancies within 300 days, and Rs 2,000 per month scholarships for meritorious college students.
Gandhi also criticised the BJP-RSS for fostering social divisions and creating insecurity among minorities, saying that such conditions were unprecedented in modern India. Referring to the AIADMK, he said at one time, there were leaders in the party who truly represented the people of Tamil Nadu, but today, the AIADMK has become a hollow shell. “It has now become an instrument of the BJP to enter Tamil Nadu. The leadership of the AIADMK has surrendered to the BJP because of their corruption and the RSS is planning… is trying to rule Tamil Nadu by proxy”, he said, adding, “the same way Donald Trump controls the Prime Minister of India, the Prime Minister of India wants to control Tamil Nadu through the AIADMK”.
