Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has said he doesn't hate Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In fact, he empathises with him. At an interaction in Georgetown University in US' Washington DC, Mr Gandhi said, "You will be surprised, but I don't actually hate Mr Modi. He has got a point of view, I don't agree with his point of view, but I don't hate him."
"In fact, in many moments, I empathise with him. It's not that I think that he is my enemy. He's got a different point of view, I have got a different point of view. I have empathy and compassion for what he is doing. And I think that's a much better place to be in instead of him versus me. I don't think that's productive," said the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, who is on a three-day visit to the US.
The Congress leader has addressed several interactions during his trip to the US and spoken on wide-ranging issues. His remarks have come under sharp criticism by the BJP, which has accused him of insulting India abroad.
Targeting the BJP's ideological parent RSS, Mr Gandhi told a gathering in Texas that the RSS believes India is one idea, while the Congress considers it a multiplicity of ideas. "That is the fight," he said. Speaking on the low participation of Indian women in the workforce, the Congress leader said the attitude of a large number of Indian men towards women is ridiculous. This attitude, he said, was also part of the ideological fight between the BJP and the Opposition. "BJP/RSS believe that women should be restricted to a particular role, they should stay at home, cook food, they should not talk too much, we believe women should be allowed to aspire to whatever they want to do," he said.
Mr Gandhi also said the "fear of BJP" had vanished after the Lok Sabha poll results. "Within minutes of the election result, nobody was scared of the BJP and the Prime Minister of India. These are huge achievements, not of Rahul Gandhi or Congress, but of the people of India who realised we are not going to accept an attack on the Constitution," he said.
Speaking on the unemployment issue in India, the Congress leader drew a comparison with China.
"The West has an employment problem. India has an employment problem... But many countries in the world don't have an employment problem. China certainly doesn't have an employment problem. Vietnam doesn't have an employment problem. So there are places on the planet that are not struggling with unemployment.
There's a reason. If you look at the United States in the 1940s, 50s and 60s, they were the centre of global production. Anything that was made, cars, washing machines, TVs, all made in the United States. Production moved from the United States. It went to Korea, it went to Japan. Eventually, it went to China. If you look today, China is dominating global production... So what has happened? The West, America, Europe, and India have given up on the idea of production and they've handed it to China. The act of production creates jobs. What we do, what the Americans do, what the West does, is we organise consumption," he said.
The ruling BJP slammed Mr Gandhi's remarks and said he is a "black spot" on Indian democracy.
"Everyone knows that Rahul Gandhi is an immature and part-time leader. But people have put a huge responsibility on his shoulders since he became the Leader of Opposition," BJP's Gaurav Bhatia told the media. "But I feel sad to say that Rahul Gandhi is a black spot in Indian democracy. He does not even know what to talk about when he visits a foreign country," he said.
Mr Bhatia said Mr Gandhi cannot "utter a single word or give a statement against China". "He weakens India.... He stands by China," the BJP leader said, claiming that the Congress signed a "party-to-party MoU with China" during its rule.
"The series of efforts that Rahul Gandhi has been making to weaken Indian democracy is the outcome of that MoU. If I am wrong, I dare Rahul Gandhi and (Congress president) Mallikarjun Kharge to make the MoU public," he said.
Responding to the BJP's barbs, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has said Mr Gandhi has never defamed India. "He (Rahul Gandhi) has never defamed India and will never do so, this is our promise. BJP people need an excuse, and they raise such issues all the time."
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