Rahul Gandhi's "Thali, Chawal, Dal, Sabji" Attack On RSS In US

Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, took a jibe at the Bharatiya Janata Party with a veiled reference to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) stating that the ruling party doesn't understand that the country is for everyone, whereas for them whose headquarters are in Nagpur, only one ideology is important.

Interacting with the Indian diaspora at an event in Herndon, Virginia, the Congress leader made a reference to the different dishes on a food plate to highlight India's diversity. The LoP reiterated that India is a "union of states," adding that it means a union of different traditions and histories.

"In India, everything works together...if someone sits in front of Thali and says chawal (rice) is more important than Dal (pulses) and sabji (vegetable) is the least important, then what will happen? That's what BJP does," Rahul Gandhi said.

"BJP doesn't understand that this country is of everyone...India is a union. In the Constitution, it is written clearly... India that is Bharat is a union state. It means it is a union of languages, it's a union of traditions, a union of histories, music and dance...they (BJP) say it is not a union, it is different Only one ideology is important and its headquarters are in Nagpur. That is what the fight is about," he added.

Rahul Gandhi further alleged that the RSS believes that certain states and communities are inferior to others.

"The RSS is saying that certain states, languages, religions and communities are inferior to others. This is what the fight is about. We are of the opinion that... all of you have your history, tradition and language. Every single one of them is as important as any other one. What would you do if somebody told you that you cannot speak Tamil? How would you feel? How would you react? That is the ideology of the RSS -- That Tamil, Marathi, Bengali, Manipuri- are all inferior languages," he said.

The Congress leader said, "It ends up in the polling booth, Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha. But the fight is about what type of India we are going to have. Are we going to have an India where people are allowed to believe what they want to believe?... Or we are going to have an India where only few people can decide what is going to happen."

Rahul Gandhi is on a three-day visit to the US. In his speech at Dallas, he termed the Indian diaspora in the US a "vital bridge" between two nations and stated that Dallas has provided a "fantastic start" to his US visit.

Mr Gandhi, who arrived in Dallas on Sunday, interacted with students and teachers at the University of Texas. He also addressed the members of the Indian diaspora in Dallas. He also visited Washington DC.