‘PM Modi failed miserably on China border dispute’, Rahul Gandhi also mentioned the ideological war with BJP-RSS

New Delhi : Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, while interacting with the media in Washington DC during his/her US visit, spoke openly on several important issues including the border dispute with China, India’s production capacity. Rahul Gandhi targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said that he/she has not handled the border dispute with China properly. he/she advocated cooperation between the US and India in the field of production and said that both countries will have to come together to counter China’s non-democratic production model. Rahul Gandhi also spoke on the issue of unemployment and talked about supporting small and medium industries. he/she supported the decentralized production system, citing the steps being taken by his/her governments in Karnataka and Telangana. Rahul Gandhi is on a three-day US visit where he/she met the Indian community, students, teachers and US lawmakers. This is his/her first US visit after becoming the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.

In his/her speech, Rahul Gandhi first raised the issue of border dispute with China. he/she said, ‘Chinese soldiers have occupied land the size of Delhi in Ladakh, and I think it is a disaster. The media does not like to write about it. How will America react if a neighboring country occupies 4,000 square kilometers of America’s territory? Can a president escape by saying that he/she has handled it well? So, I do not think Modi has handled China well. I do not see any reason why Chinese soldiers are sitting in our territory.’

Referring to the bloody clash between Indian and Chinese soldiers in the Galwan Valley in 2020, Rahul Gandhi said that since then China has tried to aggressively change the status quo on the LAC in eastern Ladakh. he/she said that more than 50,000 soldiers of both the countries are deployed on the LAC and they have modern weapons to prevent any unilateral action.

Speaking on China’s production model, Rahul Gandhi said it is ‘un-democratic’ and the US and India should offer a new vision of production in a democratic and free society. he/she said, ‘We don’t want to work like China. We don’t want to work in an environment that is un-democratic, that is not liberal. So the real question of the 21st century is that the Chinese have put a vision of production on the table. It is an un-democratic production vision. Can the United States and India answer this by putting a vision for production in a democratic free-society? And I think that’s where a lot of the answers lie.’

Speaking about his/her new role and responsibilities, Rahul Gandhi said there is an ideological war going on between the INDIA alliance and the BJP-RSS. he/she said the opposition wants to protect India’s institutions and provide a comprehensive vision for the country. he/she said, ‘This is an extension of what I did earlier. There is an ideological war going on in India between the Congress and our allies and the BJP and the RSS. They have two completely different visions of India. We believe in a pluralistic vision, a vision where everyone has the right to flourish… an India where you are not oppressed on the basis of what religion you follow or what community you come from or what language you speak, versus a very rigid, centralised vision. So that is the landscape. And then we fight on that landscape.’

he/she further said, ‘We want to protect the institutions of India, protect the weaker sections in India, protect the lower caste, tribals, minorities, poor people. After the journey, I try to become the voice of as many people as possible. So for that… you have to go deep, go deep into the agricultural world, go deep into the struggles happening there, go into the financial system, go into the tax system. So you, in a way, have to go deep into it, talk to people and then understand, deeply understand what they are saying and then broadcast it and provide on a wider level… a vision for the country, a vision of the INDIA alliance, which is obviously going to be fundamentally different from the centralized, monopolistic vision presented by the BJP.’

Rahul Gandhi further said that there was a time when Western countries used to be the world’s producers, but gradually China took over this responsibility. he/she said that not having enough production means that not enough employment can be created. Rahul Gandhi further said that both India and America have a great opportunity to acquire the capacity to produce.

he/she said, ‘The West used to be the manufacturer of the world. If you wanted to buy a car in the 60s, you bought an American car, washing machine, refrigerator… you guys were at the forefront. And then somewhere in between, America decided, India decided, and the West decided we are just going to stop. And we handed the whole thing over to the Chinese. Now for a country like India, to say we are going to ignore manufacturing, and run only a service-based economy, means you cannot employ people.’

he/she further added, ‘I am more interested in the act of production – also called manufacturing. Look at what most American, Indian and European countries do. They organize consumption. Uber is in the service of consumption. Organizing consumption is easy. Organizing production is a completely different ballgame, much more complex. So for me, there is a huge opportunity for India and the United States to regain that ability to produce.’

On the unemployment situation, Rahul Gandhi said that he/she wants to support small and medium-small businesses and promote a decentralised production system.

he/she said, ‘We have a government in Karnataka and Telangana. Every region of India has its own specialty of production. If you go to Bellary district of Karnataka, there is a very intensive textile industry which has been destroyed. So we are looking at these areas of excellence and then trying to bring modern technology, financial support to build them. So the vision will be more of a decentralised production system. Unlike China, which has huge factories, we will be thinking of small and small medium businesses and use modern technology in that. We are testing some of these ideas in Karnataka and Telangana.’