Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, speaking at the launch of former MP Vaiko's book "Vaiko in Parliament," on Tuesday said students across the country
are in "severe pain" and don't need Prime Minister Narendra Modi's forgiveness, but his apology. The Congress MP said students are on the streets over the RSS's attempts to rewrite the country's history, asserting "India will not tolerate its history being trampled upon by anybody." He added that every state has the right to be treated fairly and express its own culture and language. He also alleged that the RSS wants "only the history subscribed by it to be followed." "We are going through strange times as the students are on the streets and are in severe pain. They don't have work and are asking for fairness in exams and an education system that works. On the other hand, the prime minister is forgiving them. Who is he to forgive me or them, I don't know," he said.
Gandhi escalated his attack, saying that a "dangerous idea" underlies the PM and RSS's approach, arguing the Constitution defines India as a union of states, each representing its own history, tradition and language. "Here are some ignorant people who don't understand Tamil, Marathi, Bengali people and say none of these histories and imaginations are relevant," he said.
National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah, also present at the event, said, "You saw on the 20th, the capital was in complete disarray. The children had come out and the way they were brutally treated, no one can forget. India needs to wake up now, not tomorrow. Unless we unitedly fight the dictatorial policies of the govt, we are never going to make India great. Remember, it is people of India that make India great."
Also present were Tamil Nadu Education Minister A Rajmohan, TMC's Sagarika Ghosh, Congress's P Chidambaram and Manickam Tagore, CPI-M's M A Baby, CPI's D Raja, Sena (UBT)'s Sanjay Raut, RJD's Manoj Kumar Jha, RSP's N K Premchandran and NCP-SP's Supriya Sule.
(With agency inputs)
