Why no women in RSS, asks Rahul Gandhi; slams sangh for ‘contempt for women’

Gandhi said, “You know who the parent organisation of the BJP is. It is the RSS. It is their thinking that till women remain silent, they are good. The moment a woman opens her mouth, they want to shut her up. Have you seen a single woman in an RSS shaka, wearing in shorts? I have never seen any. Why aren’t women allowed in RSS? They (BJP) have so many women in the party, but I have not seen a single woman in RSS. What mistake have they made?”

Earlier, Gandhi began his interaction by attacking Modi’s policies on education. Gandhi said in reply to a question from a student, “Modi has turned the focus of education to profit. Congress wants to bring it back to knowledge. In the last one year, the education budget has reduced by 16%, just imagine! About 12000 schools have shut. Modi’s marketing is great, but there is no development in the field of education. Wherever I go, people are saying this to me.”

Reiterating his point about the importance of boosting small businesses to generate employment, Gandhi told students, “You enjoy taking selfies with your phone, but that phone has given jobs to Chinese youth. It says ‘Made in China’. This is happening because Modiji’s focus is not on job creation. I want that when Chinese boys and girls use a phone, they should see that it is ‘Made in India’, ‘Made in Gujarat’, ‘Made in Vadodara’. If Gujarat could show its might in White Revolution, it can certainly do so in telecom as well.”

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Gandhi also discussed with a student, the September 5 murder of veteran journaist Gauri Lankesh. When a student asked Gandhi if he thought that journalists were unsafe in India, he said, “Why do you think Gauri Lankesh was shot dead? Do you think truth can be hidden? An activist called me after Gauri Lankesh murder and said that he was scared as he could be next. I told the activist, ‘That is exactly how they want you to feel.’ They want to intimidate those who speak. Journalists are being intimidated; most news houses ignored our Press Conference on Jay Shah.”

Gandhi said that he is trying to revive the original idea of India that promotes freedom of expression. Gandhi said, “I would rather that people have right in my country to criticize the way they want, even if they are wrong. You can criticize me or anyone without any fear. That is how India should be. Truth cannot be suppressed. It can only be concealed for a time. That is a fact.”

He went on to compare the times during the UPA government when Manmohan Singh was Prime Minister. Gandhi said, “Can you imagine this kind of violence & intimidation under Manmohan Singh? We do not believe in violence and intimidation of people. The Congress knows how to revive the economy with a soft approach, by including all sectors in the economy. We have done it before and it is the need of the hour.”

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In reply to a question from a student asking Gandhi, “Can you convince us why should we vote for you?”, he said that a Congress government would be willing to answer questions. Gandhi said, “When we come into power in Gujarat, this (interaction) will be the government you will have. Your leaders will listen to you. If we come to power in Gujarat, you can ask me questions. I won’t tell you only my Man ki Baat.”

Gandhi continued his attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the controversy surrounding Amit Shah’s entrepreneur son Jay Shah throughout his public meetings during the day. Gandhi said at the student interaction, “Have you heard of start-up India and Jay Shah, the icon of Start-up India. Modiji launched Start up India in 2014, and Jay Shah’s company fortunes grew. The Chowkidaar of India is quiet even after his right hand man’s son has made crores from Rs 50,000. The chowkidar likes to remain silent on these matters (Jay Shah). You know where Rs 2 lakh crore debt of the Gujarat govt has gone, to which company has chowkidar given it. We all know the name.” Gandhi repeated his ‘Chowkidaar’ jibe at Modi in his public meetings in Karjan and Dabhoi as well.

RSS’ response

In a statement on Tuesday evening, RSS Gujarat demanded an apology from Rahul Gandhi for his comment made in the student interaction earlier in the day. The RSS statement said, “The inappropriate comment made by Rahul Gandhi is extremely hurtful. Rahul Gandhi should apologize.” Calling Gandhi’s statement ‘unintelligent’, the statement said, “Just like RSS, a parallel organisation Rashtra Sevika Samiti is working with women since 1936 with a nationalist ideology. It is not always necessarily to stand in the same ground to achieve a common goal. The women from families of Sangh workers may not be part of committees, but are partners in the work of the Sangh. Before passing comments about the work of the Sangh, Rahul Gandhi should understand that he must stay way from making such unintelligent remarks.”