Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, who is currently on a three-day visit to the US, on Wednesday described the party's Bharat Jodo Yatra and Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra as necessary steps in response to what he claimed was the "failure of democratic institutions in India."
Gandhi's remarks came during a press briefing, where he expressed that the decision to embark on the Yatra was driven by a need to connect directly with the people.
The Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, in his remarks, suggested that the Yatra was a response to what he perceived as the non-functioning of democratic processes in the country.
Addressing the press in Washington DC, he stated, “We were forced politically to take out the Yatra because all the instruments that normally work in a democracy were just not working."
According to Gandhi, the party felt it had no choice but to engage with the populace directly, a move he believes resonated deeply with the public.
"At a political and professional level, the Yatra was a necessity. But on a personal level, it was something I had always wanted to do. Since I was young, I had this idea that one day, I must walk across my country and truly see what it is about," the Congress leader stated.
Speaking at the event, Gandhi described the contest between the Congress and the ruling BJP as a clash of fundamentally different visions for India’s future.
“There’s an ideological war taking place in India,” Gandhi stated, highlighting the competing philosophies of his party and the BJP, along with its ideological parent, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
Gandhi framed the Congress and its allies as proponents of a pluralistic vision for India — one that embraces diversity, safeguards the rights of all citizens, and allows for freedom of expression and belief. This vision, he argued, stands in stark contrast to the “much harsher, centralising vision” of the BJP.
Reflecting on his Yatra, Gandhi underscored his efforts to become a voice for the people. He emphasised the need for a leader to engage directly with various sectors of society, particularly in areas such as agriculture, finance, and taxation, to understand the complex issues that affect everyday lives.
Gandhi also spoke about the future direction of the INDIA bloc, a coalition of 26 opposition parties. He stressed that the alliance's vision would be “fundamentally different” from what he described as the BJP's centralising and monopolising agenda.
He called for a renewed focus on the manufacturing sector in democracies like the United States and India. Speaking in Washington, Gandhi argued that the West, along with India, has ceded its role as the world’s producer to China, and suggested that reclaiming that mantle could provide a critical economic and strategic advantage.
“For a country like India to simply say that we are going to ignore manufacturing and only run a service economy means you can't provide employment for your people,” Gandhi stated. He emphasised that India, along with the United States, needs to reimagine its role in the global economy, especially in the field of production.
This was the third consecutive day of Rahul Gandhi attacking the BJP and RSS.
On Tuesday, he told the Indian community in Herndon, Virginia, he stated that the sense of fear that prevailed among people before the 2024 Lok Sabha polls has now disappeared, while the "idea of Mr. Modi, 56-inch chest, direct connection with God, that’s all gone, it’s history now.".
On the RSS, he slammed the right-wing organisation for "calling certain states inferior to others." He said the reason why the RSS says this is because "they do not understand India.".
Earlier in similar remarks on Monday, Gandhi told the Indian community in Texas that people have lost their fear of Prime Minister Modi and the BJP after the party failed to get a majority on its own in this year's general elections.
