This election is for the soul of India: Rahul Gandhi

In a free-wheeling interview to The Telegraph, Rahul Gandhi spoke about the failures of the Modi government which have resulted in the pathetic state of the economy, agrarian distress and massive job crisis. He said our most cherished values –secularism, diversity and pluralism – are under attack.

Rahal said there is a systemic assault on our constitutional institutions like the Supreme Court, RBI and the CBI. Officers who don’t toe the RSS line, or are honest, are sacked like the CBI chief was removed in the middle of the night. He said even court processes and judgments were being manipulated.

He said India was being taken on a dangerous path by the RSS-BJP which will result in anarchy and chaos if they are voted back to power.

The Congress president referred to the Rafale fighter plane deal as the most blatant case of corruption involving Narendra Modi.

Flawed economic policies of the BJP government had resulted in loss of jobs to 30 million youngsters and a destroyed economy.

Rahul said Modi made pre-poll promises which were never meant to be implemented. They were meant to bring him to power.

He said Modi was an instrument for a set of crony capitalists whose Rs 3.5 lakh crore debt was waived off.

Rahul said people are frustrated and angry across India. He said Modi is attempting to use hyper-nationalism to divert the attention of the people. But the people of India are not foolish. They can see through this game.

He said while the youth is struggling with unemployment, farmers are committing suicide in their thousands, the rural economy has been devastated, atrocities are being committed against women, Dalits and Adivasis and the very idea of India as a pluralistic, secular and democratic nation is being threatened.

Rahul said unemployment was at a 45-year high. While China creates 50,000 new jobs a day, the latest data shows that India is losing 27,000 jobs every day. He described this as a national emergency which should be tackled accordingly. But, he said, the PM lives in denial.

Rahul said there are many innovative and path-breaking ideas in the Congress manifesto. Of these the minimum income guarantee was the biggest. He said this has the potential to transform India by uprooting poverty.

On Modi’s “Main Bhi Chowkidar” counter-campaign, Rahul said only the rich can afford chowkidars. So the slogan is an expression of the fact that Modi and the BJP are here to protect the rich. He said the slogan is also acceptance of the fact that Congress’ popular slogan “Chowkidar chor hai” has resonated among the people and the BJP felt it needed to be countered.

He said from Modi to Piyush Goyal, Arun Jaitley, Amit Shah and his son Jay Shah, the list of those who stand accused of looting the nation, either directly or through their friends and family, now pose as “chowkidars” was very long.

Rahul said the BJP and its leader Modi possess ‘killer instinct’ in the sense that they do not care about democratic processes or the voice of the people, only about forming governments and grabbing power, no matter how dishonestly they acquire it.

He said the Congress has both passion and energy, but believes in listening to the voice of the people, unlike the BJP, which has wrested power in states like Goa in a completely unethical manner.