Amid efforts back home to galvanise the rival political forces against the BJP government at the Centre with an eye on next year’s Lok Sabha elections, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said the Opposition in India was “pretty well united”.
Putting forth his point of view on a range of issues during a conversation at the National Press Club in Washington DC, Rahul said his party was in touch with fellow Opposition forces. Responding to ANI’s question on Opposition unity, Rahul said his party was holding regular dialogue with all the Opposition parties, adding that “quite a lot of good work is happening” in that regard.
“The opposition is pretty well united, and it’s getting more & more united. We are having conversations with all the Opposition (parties). I think quite a lot of good work is happening there. It’s a complicated discussion because there are spaces where we are competing with the Opposition. So a bit of give and take is required. But I am confident that it (a grand Opposition alliance against the BJP at the Centre) will happen,” Rahul said.
Earlier, in his address at the prestigious Stanford University, the Congress leader said the Opposition in India was struggling to make itself heard even a few months back.
“The drama began six months ago. We were struggling… The Opposition was struggling in India. A huge financial dominance, institutional capture … struggling to fight the democratic fight in our country. None of the systems was working,” said Rahul, adding, “Democracy isn’t just about an Opposition party. It’s about several institutions that support the Opposition. Those institutions were either captured or were not playing the role they were supposed to play.”
Addressing the Indian diaspora in California on Tuesday, Rahul took a jibe at PM Modi, saying that some people in India have the “disease” of being under the impression that they know everything.
The remarks triggered a backlash from the BJP, which accused the Congress leader of tarnishing India’s image on foreign soil.
Over the course of his ongoing visit to the US, the Congress leader will visit San Francisco, Washington DC and New York.
