Congress President Rahul Gandhi at the national convention of AICC minority department, at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi. (PTI) Congress President Rahul Gandhi at the national convention of AICC minority department, at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi. (PTI)

Congress president Rahul Gandhi mounted a double-barreled attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the RSS on Thursday, saying the Hindutva outfit wanted to control the country and its institutions from Nagpur through remote control. Addressing the AICC minority convention, Gandhi called Modi a ‘darpok (coward)’ and challenged the PM to a 10-minute debate on issues such as the economy, Rafale deal and national security.

“Constitution is the battlefield on which this election is being fought. RSS wants to run the country from Nagpur. Narendra Modi is the face, Mohan Bhagwat is the remote control,” the Congress chief said while addressing the gathering at Delhi’s JLN Stadium.

Amid shouts of ‘chowkidar hi chor hai’ from the crowd, Gandhi said nowadays fear was writ large on Modi’s face. “I know his (Modi) character after fighting him for five years. He is a coward. When someone stands up to him, he runs away,” he said.

Asserting that the image of PM Modi was “finished”, Gandhi said the Congress had torn to shreds his reputation and credibility. “It used to be said 5 years ago that he will rule for the next 15 years. Congress has torn to shreds his reputation and credibility. He now knows you can’t rule India by dividing people,” the Congress chief said in his speech in Hindi.

Accusing the BJP of trying to drive a wedge between communities, Gandhi listed the contributions of several leaders from the minority community who helped in building the country.

“This country belongs to every individual. It is a fight between two ideologies. The first education minister was Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, so today if you raise the topic of education, you must thank him. Vikram Sarabhai, Manmohan Singh, Maneckshaw belonged to the minority community and they are the ones who built this country,” Gandhi said.

Training his guns on the RSS, Gandhi said the organisation was attempting to capture institutions, from the judiciary to the Election Commission. He said the Congress governments in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhatisgarh would remove RSS loyalists from the system

“The institutions in India do not belong to any party, they belong to the country, and to protect them is our responsibility, be it Congress or any other party. They (BJP) think they are above the nation. In three months they will understand that nation is above them,” he said.

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