On India vs Bharat debate

Asked about the speculation surrounding the potential renaming of India as ‘Bharat’, Rahul Gandhi said that the debate surrounding the country’s name are “panic reactions” and “distraction tactics” by the government. He alleged that such controversies seem to play out every time his party raises concerns of “crony capitalism”. Asked which name he personally prefers, he said: “I'm perfectly happy with the names that we have in our Constitution. India, that is Bharat, works perfectly well for me.” दिलचस्प बात है, हम जब भी अडानी पर सवाल उठाते हैं, मोदी जी एक नया ‘distraction’ ले आते हैं। 'INDIA या भारत' भी एक ऐसा ही मुद्दा है। pic.twitter.com/zZDxuavXOV — Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) September 8, 2023

Asked about India hosting the G20 summit in New Delhi this year, Rahul Gandhi said it was a “good thing”. “The G20 is an important conversation and it's a good thing that India is hosting it. Of course, there are issues in India that we raise (internally),” he said. He went on to point out that the lack of an invitation for Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge to the event was reflective of a “type of thinking” from the government that “did not value the leader of 60 per cent of India's population”.

On the Russia-Ukraine war

Speaking about the ongoing war in Ukraine, Rahul Gandhi said that the Opposition largely stands by the BJP-led government’s stance on the issue. “I think the Opposition, by and large, would agree with India's current position on the conflict,” Gandhi said. “We have a relationship with Russia. And I don't think the Opposition would have a different view than what the government is currently proposing,” he said.

On China’s coercive production model

Addressing a press conference in Brussels, the Congress leader said there was a need for the US, Europe and India to create an alternative, competitive model to the Chinese production model that is “coercive.” Stating that “China is proposing a particular view or particular vision of the planet,” Rahul Gandhi said, “They (China) are putting on the table the idea of the Belt and Road (the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). And one of the reasons they are able to do that is because they have become a centre of global production.”

Rahul Gandhi’s Europe tour, top quotes: From attack on democratic institutions to stance on Ukraine war

As part of his week-long trip to Europe, Rahul Gandhi held meetings with a group of European Union lawyers and interacted with students and members of the Indian diaspora.

By: Express Web Desk

New Delhi | September 12, 2023 12:08 PM IST

1 min read

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. (PTI Photo)

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From calling plans to rename India as Bharat “absurd”, to flagging what he described as a “full-scale assault” on democratic institutions in the country — Congress leader Rahul Gandhi took multiple shots at the Centre during his recently-concluded Europe tour.

As part of his week-long trip to Europe, he held meetings with a group of European Union lawyers in Brussels and the Hague and interacted with students and members of the Indian diaspora. The former Congress president also addressed students at a university in Paris.

Here are some of his top quotes from his visit to Europe:

01
‘Full-scale assault on democratic institutions’
During a media briefing in Brussels, Rahul Gandhi flagged what he said was a full-scale assault on the democratic institutions of India, adding that there are concerns in the European Union (EU) quarters over this attempt to "stifle" the country's democratic structures.

He further pledged that the Opposition would stop this "onslaught on our freedom”.
02
On India vs Bharat debate
Asked about the speculation surrounding the potential renaming of India as ‘Bharat’, Rahul Gandhi said that the debate surrounding the country’s name are “panic reactions” and “distraction tactics” by the government.

He alleged that such controversies seem to play out every time his party raises concerns of “crony capitalism”. Asked which name he personally prefers, he said: “I'm perfectly happy with the names that we have in our Constitution. India, that is Bharat, works perfectly well for me.”
03
On India hosting G20
Asked about India hosting the G20 summit in New Delhi this year, Rahul Gandhi said it was a “good thing”.

“The G20 is an important conversation and it's a good thing that India is hosting it. Of course, there are issues in India that we raise (internally),” he said.

He went on to point out that the lack of an invitation for Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge to the event was reflective of a “type of thinking” from the government that “did not value the leader of 60 per cent of India's population”.
04
On the Russia-Ukraine war
Speaking about the ongoing war in Ukraine, Rahul Gandhi said that the Opposition largely stands by the BJP-led government’s stance on the issue.

“I think the Opposition, by and large, would agree with India's current position on the conflict,” Gandhi said. “We have a relationship with Russia. And I don't think the Opposition would have a different view than what the government is currently proposing,” he said.
05
On China’s coercive production model
Addressing a press conference in Brussels, the Congress leader said there was a need for the US, Europe and India to create an alternative, competitive model to the Chinese production model that is “coercive.”

Stating that “China is proposing a particular view or particular vision of the planet,” Rahul Gandhi said, “They (China) are putting on the table the idea of the Belt and Road (the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). And one of the reasons they are able to do that is because they have become a centre of global production.”