Mohabbat Ki Dukaan' event: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has once again targeted the Modi government for allegedly promoting atrocities against the minority community in India and added that the current situation is similar to the 1980s when the Dalits were targetted in Uttar Pradesh. "What is happening to Muslims in India today, happened to Dalits in the 1980s", Gandhi said, during an event in San Franciso on Wednesday, adding he will fight the circumstances with affection.
The latest attack by Gandhi came while speaking at the 'Mohabbat Ki Dukaan' event in San Francisco in the United States. He alleged that the impact of some actions of the BJP-led government was being felt by minorities and people from the Dalit and tribal communities.
"It is being felt by the Muslims most directly because it is done most directly to them. But in fact, it is done to all communities. The way you (Muslims) are feeling attacked, I can guarantee Sikhs, Christians, Dalits, and tribals are feeling the same. You can't cut hatred with hatred., but only with love and affection," Gandhi said.
"Also, this is a periodical thing. What is happening to Muslims in India today happened to Dalits in the 1980s. If you went to UP in the 1980s, this was happening with Dalits...We have to challenge it, fight it and do it with love and affection and not with hatred and we will do that," he added.
PM Modi never talk about inflation, unemployment
Meanwhile, Gandhi, who is on a six-day visit to the US, attacked the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government and claimed it does not want to discuss core issues like price rise, unemployment, and inequality and was trying to cause distractions.
"I would have to look at exactly how they are planning to do it (delimitation exercise to increase the number of MPs). What criteria they are using? I would be interested to know how have they come up with the number 800. These things should not be done flippantly. India is a conversation, a negotiation between its languages, its people, their history and its culture. And the negotiation has to be fair.
"All sections of the country should feel that there is fairness in the process of negotiation. But, these are all distractions. The real issue is price rise, unemployment, and inequality. BJP can't really discuss them, so they have to do the old sceptre thin. Lying down and doing all that. Aren't you happy that I am not lying down?" he asked.
'If Muslims aren't treated fairly in India': Sitharaman
Interestingly, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman who had a US trip in April this year claimed that the Muslims in India are fairly treated by the incumbent government. While speaking at the event of Peterson Institute for International Economics-- an American think tank based in Washington-- she pointed out that the West should ponder if the Muslim community is not being treated fairly in India then how is it possible that their population is growing at such a good rate.
"India has the second-largest Muslim population in the world, and that population is only growing in numbers. If there is a perception, or if there's in reality, their lives are difficult or made difficult with the support of the state, which is what is implied in most of these write-ups, I would ask, will this happen in India in the sense, will the Muslim population be growing than what it was in 1947?" asked the Finance Minister.
