NEW DELHI: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said on Wednesday (US time) he never imagined that his disqualification from the Lok Sabha was possible when he joined politics in March 2004.
“When I joined politics, I never imagined this is what I would go through. I didn’t imagine that something like this was possible,” he said referring to his disqualification from Lok Sabha as a Member of Parliament (MP).
He made the remarks at the Stanford University in California, a day after taking a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP government while addressing the Indian diaspora in San Francisco.
“But then I think it’s actually given me a huge opportunity. Probably much bigger than the opportunity I would have. That’s just the way politics works,” Rahul said.
The Congress leader was disqualified from Lok Sabha earlier this year after he was convicted by a Surat court in a 2019 criminal defamation case over his ‘Modi surname’ remark.
“I think the drama started about six months ago. We were struggling. The entire opposition is struggling in India. Huge financial dominance. Institutional capture. We’re struggling to fight the democratic fight in our country,” he said, adding that at this point in time, he decided to go for the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’.
“I am very clear, our fight is ours fight,” he said. “But there is a group of young students from India here. I want to have a relationship with them and want to talk to them. It’s my right to do it,” he said during his interaction with Indian students and academicians of Indian origin at the University.
A war of words erupted on Wednesday between Congress and BJP over Rahul Gandhi’s remarks on PM Modi during his address to NRIs in California.
“There is a group of people in India who are absolutely convinced they know everything. They think they know even more than God. They can sit with God and explain. . . what’s going on. And of course, our PM is one such specimen,” Rahul said in California.
Hitting back at Rahul Gandhi, the BJP accused the Congress leader of insulting India and continuing with his agenda of denting the country’s image during his visits abroad.
Rahul Gandhi is in the US for a three-city US tour.
– With agency inputs
“When I joined politics, I never imagined this is what I would go through. I didn’t imagine that something like this was possible,” he said referring to his disqualification from Lok Sabha as a Member of Parliament (MP).
He made the remarks at the Stanford University in California, a day after taking a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP government while addressing the Indian diaspora in San Francisco.
“But then I think it’s actually given me a huge opportunity. Probably much bigger than the opportunity I would have. That’s just the way politics works,” Rahul said.
The Congress leader was disqualified from Lok Sabha earlier this year after he was convicted by a Surat court in a 2019 criminal defamation case over his ‘Modi surname’ remark.
“I think the drama started about six months ago. We were struggling. The entire opposition is struggling in India. Huge financial dominance. Institutional capture. We’re struggling to fight the democratic fight in our country,” he said, adding that at this point in time, he decided to go for the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’.
“I am very clear, our fight is ours fight,” he said. “But there is a group of young students from India here. I want to have a relationship with them and want to talk to them. It’s my right to do it,” he said during his interaction with Indian students and academicians of Indian origin at the University.
A war of words erupted on Wednesday between Congress and BJP over Rahul Gandhi’s remarks on PM Modi during his address to NRIs in California.
“There is a group of people in India who are absolutely convinced they know everything. They think they know even more than God. They can sit with God and explain. . . what’s going on. And of course, our PM is one such specimen,” Rahul said in California.
Hitting back at Rahul Gandhi, the BJP accused the Congress leader of insulting India and continuing with his agenda of denting the country’s image during his visits abroad.
Rahul Gandhi is in the US for a three-city US tour.
– With agency inputs