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‘Fully endorse Manmohan, Sonia’ — Rahul asserts his stand on Operation Blue Star

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Chandigarh: Stressing that both Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi have made their position “very clear” in the past, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi Tuesday asserted that he “fully endorsed” their statements, in the light of the Akalis seeking his apology for Operation Blue Star.

The Gandhi scion also struck a note of reconciliation, saying that he had great “love and affection” for Punjabis and respect for the Sikh community. 

Addressing a press conference in Hoshiarpur, Rahul said that former prime minister Manmohan Singh as well as former Congress president Sonia Gandhi had made their position over Operation Blue Star. 

While Singh had apologised in the Rajya Sabha in 2005 over Operation Blue Star, Sonia in 1998 had regretted the army action at Golden Temple.

As the Bharat Jodo Yatra entered its Punjab leg on 10 January, Rahul increasingly faced attacks from the Shiromani Akali Dal which demanded an apology from him for Operation Blue Star and also sought an explanation for the alleged role of the Congress party in the anti-Sikh pogroms in the aftermath of Indira Gandhi’s assassination. The two events still hit a raw nerve among the Sikh community.  

To a media query about the Congress party’s “reconciliation” with the Sikhs, Rahul said he had great “love and affection” for Punjabis and respect for the Sikh community. “India would not be India had it not been for the Sikh community. They are the backbone of this country,” he added.

Regarding his party’s abysmal performance in the Punjab elections, he said the erstwhile Congress government faced huge anti-incumbency for which the party paid a price. 

The Congress leader was referring to four-and-a-half-year rule under former chief minister Amarinder Singh who was replaced by the party high command just six months ahead of the Punjab polls. 

When pointed out that his candidate Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and the then Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu were working at cross purposes in the run up to the elections, Rahul said: “Small issues between leaders are resolvable if the public is with you.” 

In an answer to a media query regarding the exodus of top leaders, including Amarinder Singh, to the BJP leading to a leadership crisis, Rahul asserted his party in Punjab was much better off without the “riff-raff” that had exited. 

The party was in good hands in Punjab and during his yatra in the state he had witnessed an equal amount of enthusiasm right from senior leaders to party workers, Rahul added.

In response to a question about Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann’s tweet that the Congress high command had controlled the state by replacing Amarinder with Channi, Rahul said Punjab can never be run from Delhi.  

“Punjab has to be run from Punjab. Punjabi pride never accepts control by Delhi, and the Congress party respects that,” he asserted.  

When asked about the problem of drug addiction in Punjab, Rahul said the solution lay in dealing with the problem directly as also indirectly by working towards ending unemployment and farmer distress. 

“Punjab needs a new vision. Punjab gave an opportunity to AAP thinking that they had a new vision but they have failed. Wherever I go people tell me that they are disappointed in AAP,” he added.  


Also Read: ‘Nautanki’ — BJP attacks Rahul for wearing saffron turban in Punjab, Congress calls it ‘non-issue’


 

‘Will hug Varun but…’

When asked if his Bharat Jodo Yatra changed him enough to end his differences with his cousin Varun Gandhi, Rahul said he would meet him affectionately and even hug him but he will never be able to share his ideology. “My ideology does not match his. I cannot go into a RSS office. For that you will have to cut my throat,” he said.

To a question regarding RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s comment that Hindus were at war for the past 1,000 years, Rahul said the Hinduism he studied was not a religion of war and hatred. 

“The Hinduism that I have read from the Gita and Upanishads does not teach anyone hatred. It’s a religion that teaches love and compassion. He (Bhagwat) is not talking about Hinduism, he is talking about RSS’s idea of Hinduism.”.

When asked if the yatra changed him in any way, Rahul said he felt humbled walking on the roads of India. 

“One of the biggest realisations has been that India is a country of extremely resilient and strong people. The people of India are able to go through any hardship with a smile and it is a tragedy that we are wasting this potential. 

“Only one per cent of India owns 40 per cent of its assets. This is not just unfair. It is also stifling the growth of this country. We are heading into accidents on multiple fronts, be it unemployment, price rise or income inequality,” the former Congress president observed.

The BJP had not just created an environment of hatred and divisiveness but also destroyed the independence of institutions, he said. “Now the battle is not between one political party and another like it should be in a democracy, it is between the opposition and these institutions which are in control of the BJP. These include the media, the ED, the CBI and the Election Commission.” 

When asked why he was constantly attacking the media, Rahul pointed out that  his target was those media houses which were engaged in distracting the public from real issues. “The questions that need to be asked are about unemployment, farmers, small industries but the questions are asked about Aishwarya Rai and Shah Rukh Khan.”  

(Edited by Tony Rai)


Also Read: Bharat Jodo Yatra has transformed Rahul’s image. But no guarantee of electoral victory


 




Chandigarh: Stressing that both Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi have made their position “very clear” in the past, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi Tuesday asserted that he “fully endorsed” their statements, in the light of the Akalis seeking his apology for Operation Blue Star.

The Gandhi scion also struck a note of reconciliation, saying that he had great “love and affection” for Punjabis and respect for the Sikh community. 

Addressing a press conference in Hoshiarpur, Rahul said that former prime minister Manmohan Singh as well as former Congress president Sonia Gandhi had made their position over Operation Blue Star. 

While Singh had apologised in the Rajya Sabha in 2005 over Operation Blue Star, Sonia in 1998 had regretted the army action at Golden Temple.

As the Bharat Jodo Yatra entered its Punjab leg on 10 January, Rahul increasingly faced attacks from the Shiromani Akali Dal which demanded an apology from him for Operation Blue Star and also sought an explanation for the alleged role of the Congress party in the anti-Sikh pogroms in the aftermath of Indira Gandhi’s assassination. The two events still hit a raw nerve among the Sikh community.  

To a media query about the Congress party’s “reconciliation” with the Sikhs, Rahul said he had great “love and affection” for Punjabis and respect for the Sikh community. “India would not be India had it not been for the Sikh community. They are the backbone of this country,” he added.

Regarding his party’s abysmal performance in the Punjab elections, he said the erstwhile Congress government faced huge anti-incumbency for which the party paid a price. 

The Congress leader was referring to four-and-a-half-year rule under former chief minister Amarinder Singh who was replaced by the party high command just six months ahead of the Punjab polls. 

When pointed out that his candidate Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and the then Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu were working at cross purposes in the run up to the elections, Rahul said: “Small issues between leaders are resolvable if the public is with you.” 

In an answer to a media query regarding the exodus of top leaders, including Amarinder Singh, to the BJP leading to a leadership crisis, Rahul asserted his party in Punjab was much better off without the “riff-raff” that had exited. 

The party was in good hands in Punjab and during his yatra in the state he had witnessed an equal amount of enthusiasm right from senior leaders to party workers, Rahul added.

In response to a question about Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann’s tweet that the Congress high command had controlled the state by replacing Amarinder with Channi, Rahul said Punjab can never be run from Delhi.  

“Punjab has to be run from Punjab. Punjabi pride never accepts control by Delhi, and the Congress party respects that,” he asserted.  

When asked about the problem of drug addiction in Punjab, Rahul said the solution lay in dealing with the problem directly as also indirectly by working towards ending unemployment and farmer distress. 

“Punjab needs a new vision. Punjab gave an opportunity to AAP thinking that they had a new vision but they have failed. Wherever I go people tell me that they are disappointed in AAP,” he added.  


Also Read: ‘Nautanki’ — BJP attacks Rahul for wearing saffron turban in Punjab, Congress calls it ‘non-issue’


 

‘Will hug Varun but…’

When asked if his Bharat Jodo Yatra changed him enough to end his differences with his cousin Varun Gandhi, Rahul said he would meet him affectionately and even hug him but he will never be able to share his ideology. “My ideology does not match his. I cannot go into a RSS office. For that you will have to cut my throat,” he said.

To a question regarding RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s comment that Hindus were at war for the past 1,000 years, Rahul said the Hinduism he studied was not a religion of war and hatred. 

“The Hinduism that I have read from the Gita and Upanishads does not teach anyone hatred. It’s a religion that teaches love and compassion. He (Bhagwat) is not talking about Hinduism, he is talking about RSS’s idea of Hinduism.”.

When asked if the yatra changed him in any way, Rahul said he felt humbled walking on the roads of India. 

“One of the biggest realisations has been that India is a country of extremely resilient and strong people. The people of India are able to go through any hardship with a smile and it is a tragedy that we are wasting this potential. 

“Only one per cent of India owns 40 per cent of its assets. This is not just unfair. It is also stifling the growth of this country. We are heading into accidents on multiple fronts, be it unemployment, price rise or income inequality,” the former Congress president observed.

The BJP had not just created an environment of hatred and divisiveness but also destroyed the independence of institutions, he said. “Now the battle is not between one political party and another like it should be in a democracy, it is between the opposition and these institutions which are in control of the BJP. These include the media, the ED, the CBI and the Election Commission.” 

When asked why he was constantly attacking the media, Rahul pointed out that  his target was those media houses which were engaged in distracting the public from real issues. “The questions that need to be asked are about unemployment, farmers, small industries but the questions are asked about Aishwarya Rai and Shah Rukh Khan.”  

(Edited by Tony Rai)


Also Read: Bharat Jodo Yatra has transformed Rahul’s image. But no guarantee of electoral victory


 

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