Saying that China was “preparing for war", Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accused the Centre of “hiding” and “ignoring” transgressions along the Indo-China border. Asked about factionalism in the party, Gandhi said the party had no problems with “discussions or with different ideas”. He was addressing a press conference organised to mark 100 days of the Bharat Jodo Yatra in Jaipur, along with party general secretary KC Venugopal, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and others. Speaking on the clash of Indian and Chinese troops in Tawang last week, Gandhi said: “What I see, and I have been saying it for two to three years, is that China's threat is clear. The government is trying to hide it, and is ignoring it. But the threat cannot be hidden or ignored." “They are doing full preparation by Ladakh and Arunachal, it is a full offensive preparation. The government of India is sleeping. It does not want to hear this, but they are preparing not for an incursion, but for war. If anyone understands this - you look at the pattern of their weapons and what they are doing, they are preparing for war. Our government hides this and is unable to accept this,” he added. Accusing the Centre of doing “event-based work” as against “strategic” work, Gandhi said: “But the event doesn’t work when there is international relations or geostrategy involved. Power works there." “I have said 3-4 times, be careful, what is happening should be understood,” he said, adding that External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar "keeps speaking, but perhaps needs to make his understanding deeper.” He added that China has “taken 2,000 square kilometres of India, which martyred 20 Indian jawans, and beat up jawans in Arunachal Pradesh.” Attacking the media, he said: “There has been a systemic defamation campaign run against myself and the Congress. The press has participated wilfully in this campaign. But the idea that the Congress is withering away, that it is ineffective, has all been preached by the BJP and you (media) have played a part in putting this across. The idea that the Congress is dying, the Congress is finished – a lot of people have this fantasy. It won’t come true, mark my words. The BJP is going to be taken down by the Congress.” “You people (journalists) write about Aishwarya Rai ji, Virat Kohli ji, Amitabh Bachchan ji. But there is no competition to the knowledge or love of the common man,” Gandhi added. Responding to a question on factionalism in the state unit, Gandhi said, “There is clarity in our structure, there is no confusion. Our party is not a dictatorship, we have no problem with some discussions, or with different ideas.” Regarding the boycott of the Congress Legislature Party on September 25 by MLAs belonging to Gehlot’s faction, and the notice sent to three MLAs, Gehlot said, “There is no state of indecision. It is very clear, ye thora thora hota rehta hai party mein (these small things keep happening in the party), it is not a big problem, there is no confusion.” Asked who will lead the party in Rajasthan, or whether the party will go without a face into the 2023 Assembly polls, Gandhi said, “I am not the Congress party president.” On senior Congress leaders leaving the party, he said, “If certain people want to leave the Congress party, they don’t have the courage to face the BJP. They have been corrupt. The BJP can apply pressure on them and they’re welcome to leave, we don’t want them. The more the merrier.” Emphasising the importance of party workers, Gandhi said: “There are lakhs and crores of Congress workers and supporters, as well as common men who love the Congress. This we got to see in every state. There has been an overwhelming response here (in Rajasthan). If we employ our lower level workers and leaders well, we can win the election easily,” Gandhi added that while there were some complaints from locals in Rajasthan, he "has also heard praise for the Chiranjeevi Yojana and the urban employment guarantee scheme of the Gehlot government". In a response to another question, he said, “Every party goes through transition and evolution…Right now you are witnessing the Congress party adapting. The Congress party has made several mistakes indeed, it is adapting to the situation the country is in. The party is going to its root, its DNA. The day Congress party catches its root, then no one can defeat the Congress.” “So this (Yatra) is a communication with the people, to understand them, and to change ourselves. So you are seeing the transition, it will take time,” he said. Saying “he has learnt a lot from the yatra”, Gandhi added that distances between the leaders - which perhaps includes him - and the people has grown. “This is not a physical distance, it is a distance of pain. Unless we bear pain, we can’t go close. This is also the aim of the yatra," Gandhi said. Attacking the BJP, he said, “The country’s vision should be of up ahead. The BJP says 'Look, what happened 2,000 years ago'. That is not vision. You can’t drive a car while looking in the rear view mirror. There will be an accident. And that is what is happening with Hindustan.” Earlier in the day, Gandhi walked through Dausa, the stronghold of Congress leader Sachin Pilot. He later attended a Bharat Jodo Concert at Albert Hall Museum in Jaipur with Gehlot and others, where Bollywood singer Sunidhi Chauhan gave a live performance.
