"Hinduism About Humility": Rahul Gandhi's Counter To RSS Chief's Remarks

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi Tuesday accused the BJP and the RSS of capturing institutions and putting pressure on the Election Commission and the judiciary, and also declared that he will not visit an RSS office even if someone slits his throat.

Answering a question, at a press conference here, on the possibility of reaching out to his cousin and BJP MP Varun Gandhi, he said their ideologies do not match.

The Congress leader said if Varun walks into the yatra he might face a problem, implying that the BJP may not approve of it.

"I can never go to an RSS office. You can slit my throat, but I will not go. My family has an ideology, it has a thought system," he told the presser on the sidelines of the Bharat Jodo Yatra.

"I can meet him with love, hug him. But I cannot accept that ideology, that is impossible," he said.

Answering a related question, he said Varun Gandhi once told him that the RSS was doing good work.

The Congress leader recalled that he then told his cousin that if he had read about and understood what his family stood for, he wouldn't have said such a thing.

Varun Gandhi is the son of Sanjay and Maneka Gandhi.

His remarks on Varun Gandhi come amid speculation that the BJP MP, who often has been critical of his own party, might be joining the Congress.

Rahul Gandhi also accused the RSS and the BJP of controlling institutions.

"There is a pressure on all the institutions. There is a pressure on the press, bureaucracy, the Election Commission, judiciary," he charged.

"This is not a fight between one political party and another political party. It is now a fight between the institutions which were captured by them and the Opposition. Out of which one factor is EVM," he said to a question on Electronic Voting Machines.

Normal democratic processes in the country are now "missing", he claimed.

The former Congress chief also asserted that it is abundantly clear that economic distress, unemployment and price rise will deal a "severe blow" to the BJP in the upcoming elections in various states.

Mr Gandhi, whose foot march is passing through Punjab, also took a swipe at the ruling AAP government in the state, saying Punjab should be run from Punjab only, not from Delhi.

"If it is run from Delhi, then people of Punjab will not accept it. It is not political but it is a fact," he said.

When asked that he has been attacking Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in his speeches, Gandhi said Hinduism or any other other religion does not talk about spreading hatred.

"Hindu religion is a peace loving religion, one which connects. So whatever colour they (on RSS saffron flag) want to adopt they can, but what is written in Hindu 'dharm', they do not do that, they do something else," he said taking a dig at the RSS.

On RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat's recent remarks that "it was natural for Hindus to be aggressive and Muslims should abandon the narrative of supremacy", Mr Gandhi said, "I do not know which Hinduism he is quoting. I never heard this. I have read the Gita and Upnishads and I never heard that Hindus should be aggressive." "Hinduism is all about self-observation and about understanding the self, about humility. I do not know what he is talking about. Perhaps he has not read these books," he said.

"Even Lord Ram felt compassion for Ravana when he was dying. I do not know from where this gentleman was getting these ideas. Certainly, they are not Hindu ideas, they are RSS ideas," he said.

To a question on farmers, Mr Gandhi said there is a non-stop attack on farmers from multiple sides.

He said farmers will be the central focus of the Congress governments wherever they are in power.

"We spoke of Nyay Yojana, minimum guaranteed income for the poor. Our vision is agriculture-centric and we want there should be cold chains, technology in the agriculture sector and jobs should be created," he said.Attacking the BJP government over "income inequality", Gandhi said the country's 21 richest people have wealth which is equal to what 70 crore Indians have.

One percent of the richest Indians have 40 per cent wealth of the country, he claimed.

"The hatred is being spread and the distraction role is played by the media. You (media) distract, you say Hindu-Muslim, Aishwarya Rai, Shah Rukh Khan, Bollywood, Tendulkar, you say look at these...and over here farmers are facing loot, small shopkeepers are also facing brunt, inequality is increasing.

"So, you (media) are playing a role of distraction...but your role should be of a watchdog," he said.