In a dig against BJP’s magnanimous win in the recently concluded Gujarat assembly elections, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday made a rather ambitious claim and said that the grand old party would have definitely won if Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was not contesting in the polls.
He reiterated his party’s claim that AAP is the “B team” of BJP and colluded with them to hurt Congress. “The BJP is very clear about who they are, they divide India. AAP is just BJP’s proxy, and the day the Congress understands what it is not, it will win every election it faces,” an NDTV report quoted him as saying.
Gandhi further said that the rise of the BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is good for the Congress party’s transition in the country. “Mark my words, the Bharatiya Janata Party will be taken down by the Congress party,” he said during a press conference on Friday.
He said his party is presently “adapting to the situation of the country”, and the rise of BJP and RSS is in a way helping the Congress to emerge in a new form. Gandhi, who is leading the Bharat Jodo Yatra which is presently in its Rajasthan leg, confided that the day Congress “regains itself”, it would become invincible.
Gandhi also admitted that in the past, Congress has made many mistakes. However, he said the party is trying to adapt to India’s present situation and will soon regain its stand.
The Congress leader alleged that the BJP is running a “systematic defamation campaign” against him and his party and also accused the media of “willfully” participating in this campaign.
“There is a systematic defamation campaign against me personally and the Congress party. This is their biggest strategy. The press has participated willfully in this campaign. The idea that the party is withering away is being preached by the BJP. Congress is an ideological party which is ideologically opposed to the BJP,” an ANI report quoted him as saying.
‘Regional Parties Do Not Have National Vision’
Gandhi also said none of the regional parties can represent a vision for the country and that is what makes his party different from others. He, however, also said the Congress must work with other opposition parties for the 2024 general election and party chief Mallikarjun Kharge would evolve a strategy in this regard.
“We are different from the large number of opposition parties. We work with them, we appreciate them, we believe they are important, but we are different. The way we are different is that we represent a national ideology. We represent a vision for the country,” Gandhi told reporters in Jaipur.
“None of the regional parties can represent a vision for the country. They can represent a vision for a community or a vision for a state, but they cannot represent a vision for the country,” he said.
Gandhi said the Congress is competing with a vision that the BJP is proposing for the country.
“The space for the Congress party will always be there and the people who believe in the Congress party will always be there. It is a question of getting them excited, getting them motivated and getting them to believe in what they stand for, which the (Bharat Jodo) yatra has been very very good at doing,” he said.
(with inputs from PTI)
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