Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday emphasised that the party is central to any effort towards a united opposition for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. His remarks come amid reports that the opposition leaders in Uttar Pradesh would not be joining the Bharat Jodo Yatra, which will be entering the state on January 3.
While addressing a press conference at AICC headquarters in Delhi, Rahul responded to the question about opposition parties in UP not keen on joining the yatra by saying that they might have their political compulsions for staying away from the march.
Downplaying the issue, he said, “All opposition leaders are standing with us. We know that clearly. They have their political compulsions because of which they are not joining the yatra. The doors of the Bharat Jodo Yatra are open for everyone.”
He further said: “There is no similarity between hatred and violence on one hand and love on the other. They are diametrically opposite. Many leaders like Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati want an India of love. We have an ideological relationship with them.”
Rahul said that it cannot be a tactical, political fight where one group defeats the BJP since the institutional framework is in the control of a particular ideology.
“We can defeat them only ideologically. The Samajwadi Party does not have a national ideology. It has a certain positioning in UP which it defends. But it will not work in other parts of the country... You need a central, ideological structure which only the Congress can provide... We (opposition parties) need to have mutual respect for each other.”
He said the opposition would need an alternative vision in place.
When asked about the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and whether the opposition can come together for the polls, Rahul said that on the basis of what he was hearing and seeing on the ground, he can tell that it will be difficult for the BJP to win the polls.
When asked if he could be the prime ministerial face of the opposition in 2024, he said, “I don't fall for these kinds of things. My focus is that India should be united and fight hatred with love and harmony. We have to provide an alternative vision for the country.”
On the allegations of the Centre that he has violated security protocol, Rahul said it was not possible for him to go on a yatra sitting in a bulletproof vehicle, which is what he claimed the government wanted him to do.
“Their senior leader gets out of the bulletproof vehicle, but no letter is sent to him. There is a different protocol for them and me,” he said, also claiming that the government is forming a case against him for breaking security protocol.
Responding to a question on the BJP's attacks on him with regard to his statements on the border issue with China, he said he comes from a family of martyrs and would never want to insult the soldier or use the matter for political reasons.
He reiterated his view that the government has failed at the level of foreign policy and strategy and allowed China and Pakistan to come together. “Today, Pakistan and China are one...now, there is a risk. They will do something. First Doklam happened, then Ladakh. In my view, this was all preparation. It is not a question of 'if' but 'when'.”
