Pramod Tiwari Supports Rahul Gandhi’s Remarks on BJP and RSS in the USA

Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], September 10: Amid ongoing criticism from BJP leaders against Rahul Gandhi over his remarks in the USA, Congress Rajya Sabha MP Pramod Tiwari has come out in support of him, stating that whatever Gandhi said is true.

Tiwari said, “RSS and BJP want to divide society on the basis of religion and caste. They want to divide the nation and spread religious paranoia. Whatever Rahul Gandhi has said is the truth.”

Rahul Gandhi took a jibe at the Bharatiya Janata Party with a veiled reference to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), stating that the ruling party doesn’t understand that the country is for everyone, whereas for them whose headquarters are in Nagpur, only one ideology is important.

Interacting with the Indian diaspora at an event in Herndon, Virginia, the Congress leader made a reference to the different dishes on a food plate to highlight India’s diversity. He reiterated that India is a “union of states,” adding that it means a union of different traditions and histories.

“BJP doesn’t understand that this country is of everyone…India is a union. In the Constitution, it is written clearly… India, that is Bharat is a union state. It means it is a union of languages, it’s a union of traditions, a union of histories, music and dance…they (BJP) say it is not a union, it is different. Only one ideology is important and its headquarters are in Nagpur. That is what the fight is about,” he added.

Rahul Gandhi further alleged that the RSS believes that certain states and communities are inferior to others. “The RSS is saying that certain states, languages, religions and communities are inferior to others. This is what the fight is about. We are of the opinion that… all of you have your history, tradition and language. Every single one of them is as important as any other one. What would you do if somebody told you that you cannot speak Tamil? How would you feel? How would you react? That is the ideology of the RSS–that Tamil, Marathi, Bengali, Manipuri- are all inferior languages,” he said.

Rahul Gandhi is on a visit to the United States. He will be in Washington for two days before departing for Delhi. Earlier in the day, he addressed the Indian diaspora in Virginia. Gandhi, who arrived in Dallas on Sunday, also interacted with students and teachers at the University of Texas. He also addressed the members of the Indian diaspora in Dallas.