Columbia, Oct 2: Congress MP and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Thursday alleged that India’s biggest challenge today is the “attack on democracy”, calling it a “major risk” to the nation’s diverse traditions. Speaking at EIA University in Colombia during his international outreach, Gandhi said India’s strength lay in its ability to accommodate multiple religions, languages, and customs, and that space for diversity could only be created through democracy.
“India has strong capabilities in engineering and healthcare, so I am very optimistic about the country. But at the same time, there are structural flaws that must be corrected. The biggest challenge is the attack on democracy taking place in India,” he said.
The Congress leader argued that the democratic system was essential for harmony, warning against “wholesale attacks” on it. “India has multiple religions, traditions, and languages. The country is essentially a conversation between all these cultures. The best method for creating space for them is democracy. Undermining it is a major risk,” Gandhi added.
Targeting the RSS-BJP, Gandhi accused them of promoting “cowardice” at the heart of their ideology. Citing an incident from V.D. Savarkar’s book, Gandhi said, “He wrote that he and his friends once beat up a Muslim man and felt happy about it. If five people beat up one man and celebrate it, that is cowardice. This is RSS ideology — to attack the weak and run away from the strong.”
Responding sharply, Union Minister Giriraj Singh hailed RSS’ century-long role and dismissed Gandhi’s remarks as “abuse”. “Even if Rahul Gandhi gets seven lifetimes, he won’t be able to become a Sangh volunteer. A Sangh volunteer works for India’s honour, not to insult it. When a party is led by someone with an urban Naxal mindset, its leaders will naturally speak the same language,” Singh said.
