Congress ideology like a beautiful jewel with unending power inside it: Rahul Gandhi

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday said his party's ideology is like a "beautiful jewel" with an unending power inside it, but it has been overshadowed by the BJP, and maintained that Hinduism and Hindutva are different concepts.

“If crystalized, the Congress ideology which is alive and vibrant will envelope that of the BJP-RSS,” he said and emphasised on strengthening his party's ideas within the organisation and spreading them across the country.

Rahul Gandhi was addressing the inaugural session of National Orientation Camp at Sevagram Ashram, Wardha via video conferencing. Congress representatives from across the nation are participating in the programme.

"We have to accept that there are two ideologies in India - the Congress ideology and the RSS ideology. We have to accept the BJP-RSS has spread hatred in today's India," he said, adding that there has been "complete capture" of the media by the saffron outfit.

"The BJP has overshadowed the loving, affectionate and nationalistic ideology of the Congress party. Our ideology is alive and vibrant, but it has been overshadowed by the BJP," said the Lok Sabha MP from Wayanad in Kerala.

"It has been overshadowed partly because of complete capture of the media and complete capture of the Indian nation. It has also been overshadowed as we have not propagated our ideology among our own people aggressively," said Gandhi.

Gandhi observed that Hindutva and Hinduism are two different concepts.

“These are the types of things we need to explore and understand and develop a group of people...100, 200, 300, 500 people who deeply understand these differences, who can apply these differences to issues, behaviour, to action,” he said.

“Is Hinduism about beating a Sikh, or a Muslim? Hindutva, of course, is. In which book is it written? I have not seen it. I have read the Upanishads. I have not read it,” he said.

"We say there is a difference between Hindutva and Hindu religion. It is a simple logic - if you are a Hindu then why do you need Hindutva? Why do you need this new name?" he asked.

The Congress leader said in today's India, ideological fight has become very important.

"Now is the time to strengthen Congress ideology in its own organisation and spread its across India through party workers," he said.

The Congress MP stressed on importance of ideological training, which he said, should be mandatory for all party workers.

"The central way to propagate the party's ideology is by training people in a conversation about what it means to be a Congress person and how is that different from being an RSS person," Gandhi said.

“Ideologically training of party workers, in my view, should be made mandatory irrespective of seniority,” Gandhi said in his address.

Gandhi said the Congress ideology, if studied and propagated deeply in the organisation, has answers of all questions related to various issues of public concern -- ranging from Article 370, terrorism to nationalism.

“The central way we have to propagate our ideology is by training our own people and by involving our own people in a conversation about what it means to be a Congress person and how is that different from being a RSS person. How does one change from becoming a RSS person to a Congress person and how does one change from becoming a Congress person to a RSS person,” he said.

“We very often discuss issues, so, for example, we will have vibrant discussions about why ‘370’ was wrong or why we view certain happenings in a particular way, but, we do not go any longer into the foundations of the Congress ideology. When I say, Congress ideology, it is actually a misnomer, it is not accurate. It is an ideology that the Congress follows, but, it is an ideology that has been existing in India for thousands of years. Just like the RSS has its icons, the Congress ideology also has its icons, they are different icons, but, we have them,” he said.

“So, it is about bringing this ideological ocean and allowing our people to swim into it, because it is an ocean. It is the entire knowledge of thousands and thousands and thousands of years, of people, who have stood for what we have stood for. There is a lineup of them and they exist in all religions,” he added.

“You can start with ‘Shiva’, ‘Kabir’, ‘Guru Nanak’, these were ideas that represent what we stand for and they have been coming along, Gandhi Ji being very good example. So, these are people who have stood for what we stood for and we have to study what they were saying deeply. We have to think about what they were saying. Is there something common between what Guru Nanak said or Kabir said and Hindutva ideology? Is that something in common between what Gandhi Ji said or King Ashoka said and Hindutva ideology?” he said.

“This is the foundational mission of Congress Karyakartas. This is going to be central in my view. Venugopal Ji and others might have a different opinion, but, in my view, it should be compulsory. It should be mandatory. Every single person should go through it. It should be a rigorous course and it should develop people who have real understanding of what it means to be a Congress person. I am sure this understanding is there intuitively in many of you. You know it, you speak it, you live it. You have to now spread it,” he said.

WATCH THE VIDEO: