Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi (Image credit: PTI)

BENGALURU: It was one of the most telling comments of rock-solid support that former Congress president Sonia Gandhi got on attacks on her foreign origin, when AICC chief Rahul Gandhi said his mother was “more Indian than many Indians”.

Winding up his high decibel poll campaign in Karnataka on Thursday, Rahul, accompanied by all top Congress leaders, interacted with the media here and responded to issues on rising incidents of crime against women, his visits to temples and personal attacks on Siddaramaiah and him by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during the election campaign. “Do you like the tone of the attacks? Do you appreciate it?” he asked.

To a query on Modi’s challenge asking him to “speak in his mother tongue”, Rahul said: “Yes, my mother is Italian, but she has lived a large part of her life in India. She is more Indian than many Indians I see.” Stating that it shows the calibre of the PM when he makes such comments, he maintained, “My mother has sacrificed for this country, she has suffered for it. I’m happy to let him do so. If he enjoys himself, if he likes it.”

On Modi’s allegation that the Congress, fearing defeat, may rig elections, Rahul said, “A man speaks what’s in his heart”, suggesting that the PM had already accepted defeat. “He is absolutely convinced now, and he is right, that he is going to lose Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and also in 2019.”

He described the army of Union ministers campaigning in Karnataka by spelling out the word ‘panic’. “They’ve panicked because they’re noticing, and realising, that the Congress is doing things differently. The Congress showed them what it’s capable of in Gujarat and now my party has clearly demonstrated what it’s capable of in Karnataka. We don’t want a barrage of leaders from outside the state to come and fight for us.”

He ruled out a suggestion that this election was a run-up to the 2019 polls, and of him being the PM candidate. “This election is about the spirit of Karnataka. This state has given our country so much, when I hear that Bengaluru is the second Silicon Valley, I feel proud. I’m absolutely convinced that 5 to 10 years from today, the people of Silicon Valley will come and say we’re the second Silicon Valley, and Bengaluru is the first,” he added.

Rahul clarified that his party was not politicising atrocities against women and rapes, but maintained that it was a national issue. On BJP calling him an ‘Election Hindu’ for visiting places of worship, he said: “BJP doesn’t understand the term ‘Hindu’. It’s a perspective. It’s something which lives with you.”

On repeated attacks on him by the PM, Rahul narrated a story of Buddha. He said many years ago, when Buddha was sitting with his disciple, a person came and started abusing him. After the person left, the disciple asked Buddha why he did not respond to the abuse. Buddha replied that the man had brought him the gift of anger, which he did not want.

“Modi has anger inside him. He has anger for everybody, not only for me. I’m a lightning rod of that anger, I attract that anger. He sees a threat in me,” he added.

