Rahul Gandhi in US: Affirmative and Astute; His Message to Modi Fans, With Love

A newly energised, post-yatra Gandhi brands his "people's politics" in an attempt to rally the diaspora.

(Photo: Namita Chauhan/The Quint)

There is a certain bounce in Rahul Gandhi’s step and a quiet determination to showcase his "shop of love in the market of hatred” on this American journey with the confidence, no doubt, coming from the Congress Party’s recent Karnataka victory.

A united opposition can defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2024, said the newly energised leader, in an attempt to rally the diaspora, large sections of which have leaned heavily in favour of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP in recent years. But there are “hidden undercurrents” of discontent with the ruling dispensation, said Gandhi, which he detected during his "Bharat Jodo” yatra. He also said the next two or three state Assembly Elections could spring more surprises for the BJP. He was clearly having a good time at the expense of the party in power.

Being disqualified from the Parliament is an advantage, Gandhi said because it has opened "new spaces” for him whether the BJP realises it or not. “Politics is not linear. It is asymmetric. The BJP has given me a gift … they may not realise it. But they have,” he said. Clearly, living off the energy from the yatra, the Congress leader was turning the tables on the ruling party. To get the maximum sentence for a defamation case told its own story and he repeated it for maximum benefit.

Rahul Gandhi's Diaspora Outreach

Gandhi had a full house at Stanford University and a decent crowd at the diaspora event in San Francisco. His closed-door event at the conservative Hudson Institute in Washington DC was well attended and included US government officials. Later, at the National Press Club, he faced several questions about his party’s specific policy plans, the Chinese aggression, and Russia’s war in Ukraine. By and large, he spoke well even if he sometimes gave overly broad answers. His supporters are heartened and there have been no missteps thus far. They are confident the New York segment will go just as well.

Gandhi’s speeches have centered around the discoveries he made during the yatra, how he listened to people and learned from them as opposed to the mindset of those in power. They tend to teach “science to the scientists” and “warfare to the Army” and think they know more than even God. The jibes landed well and immediately made it to the world of memes even though the Congress has fewer soldiers in its IT Army.

Dig at Modi but With Diplomacy

Three weeks before Modi’s state visit to Washington, Gandhi has managed to stir the beehive, talking to audiences about issues that are bound to make official hair stand on end. While he criticised the Modi government, he pointedly stayed away from "pre-judging” Modi’s upcoming visit on 22 June and avoided needless controversy.

The Congress leader expounded on the religious polarisation in India, the politics of hate, the high unemployment rate, the concentration of wealth with a few chosen business houses, the weakening of press freedom, and the use of government agencies against opposition politicians. He said Muslims and other minorities were under attack and the country had moved away from the vision of Mahatma Gandhi.

He called the current situation an "aberration” and said the foundations of democracy in India remained strong. Protections exist even if the institutions are under tremendous pressure and people are afraid. Independence and neutrality can return with a different party in power, he said, implying that India had not changed forever as many feared. And he made it a point to say the struggle was India’s own, one that opposition parties will fight themselves with no interference or help from outside powers.

The opposition, he said, was "pretty well united” and “getting more and more united,” with time but he admitted that it was a “complicated discussion” requiring give and take because the Congress is competing with other parties in certain areas. "Lot of good work is happening.” When asked if the Congress would join a coalition, he deflected the question to the party president while adding the party "will do very well in the next election… it will surprise people.” People say Modi will win. But it’s not as simple as that, he said.

China Concern but Support for Govt’s Ukraine Stand

In another statement that will rile the Modi government, the Congress leader said bluntly that the Chinese had taken roughly about 1500 square kilometers of Indian territory. “The fact of the matter is that China is occupying our territory… (but) the prime minister seems to believe otherwise. He must know something we don’t,” said Gandhi at the National Press Club on Thursday.

At another appearance, he labeled China a continuing threat to India’s security because it will keep pushing into both Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh.

However, on Russia’s war in Ukraine, Rahul Gandhi supported the government’s careful position, citing India’s dependence on Russia for weapons and pursuit of national interests as the two main reasons. “We have a relationship with Russia… it can’t be denied. We buy weapons from them. I don’t think the Congress Party government’s position would be dramatically different,” he said at the NPC.

Earlier at Stanford University, he explained the India-Russia relationship saying India is not a small country and that it would have relations with one and not another. “We will always have these types of relationships. We will have better relationships with some people, evolving relationships with other people. So that the balance is there.” It was a good answer to a question that all Indian leaders must face in the wake of the Ukraine war.

Finally, Gandhi stressed the importance of US-India relations, especially in the context of China’s increasingly aggressive behaviour on the geopolitical stage. Democratic countries can and should present a different vision to counter China’s Belt and Road initiative. He emphasised the importance of collaboration in emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence – a position that gels with the current position of New Delhi. He seemed to think the current balance in the India-US relationship is skewed towards defence cooperation while ideally, it should be in manufacturing.

(Seema Sirohi is a senior Washington-based journalist. She can be reached at @seemasirohi. This is an opinion piece and the views expressed above are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for them.)