RAHUL GANDHI, the former president of India’s opposition Congress, said he is not afraid of criticism and asserted the fight in his country is between “courage and cowardice”.
During his interaction with the Indian diaspora, organised by the Indian Overseas Congress in London on Sunday (6), he said of the governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP): “The more they attack me, the better that is for me.”
“It's a fight between courage and cowardice. It's a fight between respect and disrespect, between love and hatred... In a market of hatred, we want to set up a shop that spreads love,” he said amid applause.
The 52-year-old Congress MP said he had been invited to deliver a lecture at the University of Cambridge and regretted in an oblique reference to prime minister Narendra Modi that an Indian political leader is unable to similarly freely address a university in India.
"It was a nice atmosphere (at Cambridge University) and it made me think that an Indian political leader can give a talk at Cambridge University, (and) Harvard University but he can't give a talk in an Indian university," said Gandhi.
"The reason is that our government simply does not allow any idea of the opposition, any concept of the opposition to be discussed. The same happens in Parliament House when there are important things we need to speak about, like demonetisation, GST, (and) the fact that the Chinese are sitting inside our territory, we are not allowed to raise them in the House," he said, amid chants of “shame, shame” from the estimated 2,000-strong crowd.
"It's shameful but it's true and this is not the India that all of us are used to. Our country is an open country, a country where we pride ourselves on our intelligence, respect each other's opinions, listen to each other and that atmosphere has been destroyed,” he said.
Gandhi reiterated he was forced to undertake his Bharat Jodo Yatra (unite-India tour) - walking about 4,000 km from Kanyakumari in south India to Kashmir in the north, because all the institutions that protect democracy and allow an expression of voice have been “captured” by the BJP.
"What our different cultures tell us (is) we are one country with many, many different ideas. And we have the capability of living together harmoniously without hatred without anger without disrespect. And it's when we do that, we are successful. And that was the message of the Yatra,” he said.
Attacking the BJP, the former Congress president said, "On the other side, we have an ideology of hatred and violence, a disrespectful ideology that attacks people because of their ideas. And you must have noticed one thing that this is in the nature of the BJP and the RSS."
The RSS or Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh is a voluntary organisation and the ideological fountainhead of the BJP.
"If you notice the statement of the foreign minister, he said China is much more powerful than us. To think China is more powerful than us, how can I pick a fight with them? At the heart of the ideology is cowardice,” he said, referring to Indian external affairs minister S Jaishankar's reported remarks during an interview.
The BJP has accused Gandhi of maligning India on foreign soil while praising China.
Gandhi's remarks at Cambridge University that Indian democracy is under attack and several politicians, including himself, are under surveillance, has triggered a political slugfest with the BJP accusing him of denigrating the country.
At Sunday’s event, the Indian Overseas Congress UK chapter introduced Gandhi as the next prime minister of India and called upon the diaspora supporters to back the party's vision unleashed by the Bharat Jodo Yatra.
(PTI)
It’s a fight between ‘courage and cowardice': Rahul Gandhi
During his interaction with the Indian diaspora in London, the Indian leader said, the BJP has an ‘ideology of hatred and violence that attacks people because of their ideas’
Moglai Bap and Mo Chara of Kneecap perform at Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm in Pilton, Somerset, Britain, June 28, 2025. REUTERS/Jaimi Joy
Police may probe anti-Israel comments at Glastonbury
BRITISH police said they were considering whether to launch an investigation after performers at Glastonbury Festival made anti-Israel comments during their shows.
"We are aware of the comments made by acts on the West Holts Stage at Glastonbury Festival this afternoon," Avon and Somerset Police, in western England, said on X late on Saturday (28).
Irish hip-hop group Kneecap and punk duo Bob Vylan made anti-Israeli chants in separate shows on the West Holts stage on Saturday. One of the members of Bob Vylan chanted "Death, death, to the IDF" in a reference to the Israel Defense Forces.
"Video evidence will be assessed by officers to determine whether any offences may have been committed that would require a criminal investigation," the police statement said.
The Israeli Embassy in Britain said it was "deeply disturbed by the inflammatory and hateful rhetoric expressed on stage at the Glastonbury Festival".
Prime minister Keir Starmer said earlier this month it was "not appropriate" for Kneecap to appear at Glastonbury.
The band's frontman Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh was charged with a terrorism offence last month for allegedly displaying a flag in support of Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah at a concert in November. He has denied the charge.
A British government minister said it was appalling that the anti-Israel chants had been made at Glastonbury, and that the festival's organisers and the BBC broadcaster - which is showing the event - had questions to answer.
Health secretary Wes Streeting said he was also appalled by violence committed by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank.
"I'd also say to the Israeli Embassy, get your own house in order in terms of the conduct of your own citizens and the settlers in the West Bank," Streeting told Sky News.
"I wish they'd take the violence of their own citizens towards Palestinians more seriously," he said.
(Reuters)