india

Updated: Oct 03, 2019 02:28 IST

Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday attacked the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its ideological fountainhead, the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS), saying those “thirsty for power and indulging in politics of falsehood” cannot understand Mahatma Gandhi’s ideals of truth and selfless service.

Addressing a gathering of Congress leaders and workers after paying tributes to the Father of the Nation on his 150th birth anniversary, she said it is “easy to take the name of Mahatma Gandhi but difficult to tread his path”.

“Some people are taking Gandhiji’s name, but at the same time trying to take the nation on their own path that is different from what the Father of the Nation had conceived. His soul would be pained by what has been happening in India over the past few years,” Sonia Gandhi said.

The Congress has often accused the BJP of appropriating its political icons, including Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, for electoral mileage. It sought to reclaim the Father of the Nation’s legacy on his 150th birth anniversary.

Congress leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, undertook a padayatra (march) in Delhi to pay homage to Mahatma Gandhi. Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra did the same in Lucknow.

The Congress chief also administered an oath to her party leaders and workers to “redeem Gandhi, Gandhism and Gandhi’s India”.

“How can those who pursue the politics of falsehood understand that Gandhiji was the worshipper of truth? How can those who can do anything for power understand that Gandhiji was a worshipper of non-violence? How can those who are thirsty for power understand the meaning of Gandhiji’s Swaraj? Those who claim to be supreme at the first opportunity, how can they understand the value of selfless service of Gandhiji?” Sonia Gandhi said in a veiled attack on the BJP.

She said there has never been any dearth of those who tried to distract India from the path shown by Mahatma Gandhi while citing his name.

“Despite all their attempts and methods to become powerful and take India to a different path different from the one conceived by the Father of the Nation, the country has not been distracted because of the strong foundation laid on the values of Gandhiji,” she said in her speech in Hindi.

Sonia Gandhi said all are proud that India has attained its present status following the path shown by the Mahatma Gandhi, insisting that it is easy to take his name but difficult to follow the path shown by him.

“Gandhiji and India are synonymous. It is a different thing that some people want to reverse that. They want the RSS and not Gandhiji to be a symbol of India. But I want to tell them clearly that India’s composite culture, its civilisation, traditions and the spirit of brotherhood advocated by Gandhiji will not allow that,” she said.

The Congress president said Mahatma Gandhi wanted India and its villages to be self-reliant. “The Congress after independence followed this path and took revolutionary steps in this regard. Be it Jawaharlal Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Narasimha Rao or Manmohan Singh, all struggled to build a new India and establish new paradigms of progress.”

She said it is unfortunate that farmers are in poor condition, young people are struggling with unemployment, industries are shutting down, women are not safe even in big cities and powerful people committing atrocities are sitting pretty while their victims are being put in jail.

“I want to tell those who decide the country’s destiny that Gandhiji is a symbol of love, not hatred, a symbol of harmony not confrontation, a symbol of democracy and not autocracy. No matter what others claim, the Congress is the only party that has followed the principles of Gandhiji and will continue to do so,” added Sonia Gandhi.

In Lucknow, Priyanka Gandhi said the BJP should first pursue the path of truth and then talk about Mahatma Gandhi. “It was the order of Gandhiji to pursue the path of truth.”

Paying tributes to Mahatma Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi said, “Through his words and deeds, he showed us that love for all living beings and non-violence is the only way to defeat oppression, bigotry, and hatred.”