We are fighting BJP, RSS, and the Indian state itself, says Rahul Gandhi; Nadda hits back

Speaking at the inauguration of the Congress’s new headquarters in Delhi, Gandhi said, “We are getting a new headquarters at a very particular time. It is quite symbolic that yesterday, in a speech, the chief of the RSS said India never achieved Independence in 1947. He said true Independence was achieved when the Ram Mandir was built. This building is not an ordinary building. It has emerged from the soil of our country, emerged as a result of the hard work and sacrifice of millions of people, and not just sacrifice prior to the freedom movement but sacrifice until today.”

Gandhi said Bhagwat would have been charged with “treason” for his remarks in any other country. He said the fruit of the freedom movement was the Constitution, which was attacked by Bhagwat “when he says that the Constitution was not the symbol of our freedom”.

Congress’s new headquarters in New Delhi. (Express Photo)

Addressing Congress leaders after the inauguration of the new building, Gandhi argued that India is now witnessing a clash between two visions, one represented by the Congress and the other by the RSS. He said that the vision of the Congress and RSS are in conflict. “We are now fighting the BJP, the RSS and the Indian state itself,” said Gandhi.

Shortly after his speech, BJP national president JP Nadda wrote on X, “Hidden no more, Congress’ ugly truth now stands exposed by their own leader. I ‘compliment’ Mr. Rahul Gandhi for saying clearly what the nation knows – that he is fighting the Indian state! It is not a secret that Mr. Gandhi and his ecosystem have close links with Urban Naxals and the Deep State who want to defame, demean and discredit India. His repeated actions have also strengthened this belief. Everything he has done or said has been in the direction of breaking India and dividing our society.”

He added, “Congress has a history of encouraging all those forces who want a weak India. Their greed for power meant compromising the nation’s integrity and betraying the trust of the people. But, the people of India are wise. They have decided that they will always reject Mr. Rahul Gandhi and his rotten ideology.”

Speaking in the morning, Rahul also said, “One idea says India is a union of states. As we entered (the building), I saw all the national languages there equally placed together. There is no superior language, no inferior language, there is no superior culture, no inferior culture, there is no superior community, no inferior community, they are all the same. That is written in the Constitution and it is symbolised by this building.”

“On the other side, there is the idea of a centralised knowledge.. of a centralised understanding. Mohan Bhagwat has the audacity to inform the nation every two or three days what he thinks about the Independence movement and what he thinks about the Constitution. In fact, what he said yesterday is treason. Because it is stating that the Constitution is invalid, the fight against the British was invalid. And he has the audacity to say this publicly. In any (other) country, he would be arrested and tried. That is a fact. To say that India did not get Independence in 1947 is an insult to every single Indian. And it is about time we stop listening to this nonsense that these people think they can keep parroting… and shouting and screaming,” he said.

He said the “people who are in power today do not salute the tricolour, do not believe in the national flag, do not believe in the Constitution and they have a completely different vision of India that we do”.

“They want India to be run by a shady, hidden, secret society. They want India to be run by one man, and they want to crush the voice of the Dalits, the voice of the minorities, the voice of the backward castes, and the tribals. This is their agenda,” Gandhi said.