Congress President Rahul Gandhi
Speaking at an event in Delhi, Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday took a swipe at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over his hug to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Parliament. The BJP MPs move two steps back on seeing him fearing I may embrace them too, Gandhi said.
Narrating an incident he witnessed during his visit to Vietnam about 10 years ago, the Congress president emphasised that one can fight someone with all his might but does not need to hate.
Gandhi said that he along with the other opposition parties will fight the BJP without hating it, wondering if he can expect the same from the Narendra Modi-led government. The atmosphere in India from his perspective is ‘coloured with a lot of hatred, anger and frustration’.
"You can fight someone with all your might, but hate is a choice. I may disagree with Mr (LK) Advani, I may have a completely different conception of the country from that of Mr Advani,” he said.
"I can fight Mr Advani on every single inch, but I don't need to hate him," Gandhi said at the launch of journalist Karan Thapar's book 'Devil's Advocate -- The Untold Story'.
"Karan Singh ji has taught me a lot about our country, about our religion. There is one thing that our religion teaches us, is that you absolutely cannot get imprisoned by hatred," Gandhi said.
A host of leaders including former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, former Vice President Hamid Ansari, senior BJP leader Advani, former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, and former Union Minister Karan Singh were present among others at the event.
Addressing the event, Rahul Gandhi said that it has been his endeavour to keep hate out.
"I will take on Narendra Modi ji, all the Congress people sitting here, my friend on the left there Mr (CPI-M chief Sitaram) Yechury, we will all take on the BJP and they will fight us, but we don't need to hate them. I don't know if I can expect the same from them," Gandhi said.
Politicians tend to see the world as either "them or us", he added.
"This is not my natural way, but as Advani ji or Manmohan Singh ji will tell you that this is the design of our politics, it's confrontational and its winner takes it all. But this is not how I am designed inside and I am sure this is not how many of you are designed inside," said the Congress president.
