Last Update: June 02, 2023, 04:26 AM IST
Washington DC, United States of America (USA)
Rahul Gandhi, who is on a three-city tour of America, made this comment while interacting with the media at a press club. (Image: PTI/File)
Gandhi, who is in the US for a three-city US tour, made the remarks in response to a series of questions during a media interaction in Washington.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said the opposition is very well united and great work is being done on the ground as he asserted that there is a hidden underlying building and it will “surprise” people in the next general elections.
Gandhi, who is in the US for a three-city US tour, made the remarks while interacting with the media at the National Press Club here in response to a series of questions.
“I think the Congress party will do very well in the next two years. I think it will happen, said Gandhi, 52, a former party president. “I think there is a hidden underlying building that I think (the results) will surprise people,” he said.
Pointing to the results of the Karnataka assembly elections, where the Congress won a comfortable majority and ousted the BJP, Gandhi said, “Wait and see the next three or four state elections. A better indicator of what’s to come. Responding to another question, Gandhi said that the opposition in India is quite united.
“And I think it’s coming together more and more. We’re talking to all the opposition (parties). I think a lot of good work is going on.”
“It is a complex discussion because there are places where we are competing with (other) opposition (parties) as well. So, it’s a little give and take as needed. But I believe it will happen,” he said.
Gandhi answered a range of questions including press and religious freedom in India, issues facing minorities, and the state of the economy.
When asked about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s high level of worldwide popularity, Gandhi said that “there is a definite capture of the country’s institutions. There is a definite capture of the press in the country. I don’t believe you know, I No, I don’t believe everything I hear.
Asked what his party would do to ensure the rights of minorities in India if voted to power, he said, “India already has a very strong system, (but) that system has become weak…institutions.” An independent group of people who are not pressured and controlled. And this has been the norm in India. This is a deviation that is happening in India… If you say that if Congress comes to power then they can be reinstated as soon as possible.
On the weakening of press freedom in India, he said that press freedom is very important for democracy.
“It is not just freedom of the press. It is the political outreach on multiple axes, the tightening of the institutional framework that allowed India to speak, that allowed the Indian people to speak…. And the structure that allows interaction between the people of India is coming under pressure, he said. On US-India relations, he said that the relations between India and the US are very, very important.
“It is important to have a defense relationship. But I think we need to look at other areas (of cooperation) as well.
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – PTI,