New Delhi:Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and Congress Chief Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday came down heavily on the RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat's statement that India got "true independence" after the Ram temple consecration.
Speaking at the inauguration of the new Congress headquarters here, Gandhi said that Bhagwat's remark amounts to treason and is an insult to every Indian. "Every party worker is fighting the battle of ideologies under difficult circumstances where institutions have been captured by the BJP and the RSS and investigative agencies are being used against opposition leaders," he added.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi speaking in New Delhi on Wednesday (PTI) The leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha also hit out at the Election Commission and alleged that there is a "serious problem" with the country's election system.
"Mohan Bhagwat has the audacity to say to the country what he thinks about the independence movement and the Constitution. What he said yesterday is treason... Because he is stating that the Constitution is invalid and the fight against the British was invalid.
"He has the audacity to say this publicly. In any other country, he would be arrested and tried. That is a fact," Gandhi said at the inauguration of the Indira Gandhi Bhawan.
"To say that India did not get independence in 1947 is an insult to every Indian. And it is time to stop listening to this nonsense that these people think they can keep parroting out and shouting," he said.
The former Congress president said the party has worked with the Indian people and it has built the success of this country on the foundations of the Constitution and that is what this building symbolises.
"It is important that we take ideas from this building and spread these ideas in the rest of the country," he said. Gandhi said "we are fighting a civilisational war with these people, they are attacking every day the ideas that we believe in" and asserted that only the Congress can fight them.
Hitting out at the Election Commission, he said, the EC has refused to give us information about the increase in the number of voters in Maharashtra from Lok Sabha elections to assembly elections.
"What purpose does it serve? Why will it damage the EC? Why are they not giving us the list? "The EC must ensure transparency in elections. If there is an increase of one crore in (the number of) voters in Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha in Maharashtra, it is the duty and sacred responsibility of the EC to show us exactly why this has happened. There is a serious problem with our election system," Gandhi said.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge also condemned Bhagwat's remarks and warned that it would become difficult for him to move around in the country if he continued to make such statements.
Kharge said RSS people believe that independence was achieved with the Ram Temple inauguration and don't remember the independence of 1947 as they did not fight for it.
"You would know that those people who had nothing to do with independence and did not fight for it are making such statements. I read the statement by the RSS chief. He said real independence was established with the inauguration of the Ram Temple. He had inaugurated the temple along with (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi...Modi believes that independence was achieved in 2014 when he became PM," he said.
"RSS people believe that independence was established with Ram Temple's inauguration. It is a matter of shame that even though we got independence in 1947 they are not acknowledging it because they did not struggle for it, go to jail, and therefore they do not remember. We remember because our people died for independence and struggled for it," he said.
Kharge condemned Bhagwat's statement and said that "it would become difficult for him to move around in the country if he keeps giving such statements".
Kharge said the Congress headquarter would become the centre of fighting forces that are working against the Constitution and democracy. Quoting B R Ambedkar, Kharge said those who forget history cannot make history.
"So to those people who forget the work done by the Congress, that it had attained independence for the country, I would say you will not be abe to make history. I say this as parties nowadays are spending their time only in abusing Congress instead of working for the country," he said.
Kharge, former party chief Rahul Gandhi, Congress general secretaries Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Jairam Ramesh, and K C Venugopal, among other senior party leaders, were present on the occasion. The event saw party leaders hoist the party flag at the new headquarters and the singing of Vande Mataram and the national anthem.
Sonia Gandhi then inaugurated the building, asking Kharge to join her in cutting the ribbon at the entry of the building. The new state-of-the-art AICC headquarters -- Indira Gandhi Bhawan - symbolises the Congress party's continuing mission to uphold the vision of its stalwarts, the party had earlier said. (With inputs from agencies).
