Washington DC: After launching a tirade of attacks at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, opened up on his thoughts on his rivals and said he doesn’t hate the Prime Minister but only disagrees with his point of view.

The Congress leader was interacting with students and faculty at Georgetown University in Washington, DC, on Monday (local time).

He also said that India essentially, is an idea of mixing and merging, while alleging that BJP and RSS have the “misunderstanding” of seeing India as a bunch of separate things.

“India at heart, is a union of languages, traditions, histories, religion, everything…When you have lunch here, you get first course, second course…we don’t get that, we get a thali, and everything placed in it…it’s a jumble and every food has the same value…so this idea of mixing and merging is in India,” Rahul Gandhi said.

“When Indian people go to their religious places, they merge with their deity. This is the nature of India. The misunderstanding that BJP and RSS have is they think that India is a whole bunch of separate things. So we don’t need to redefine anything, it’s already there,” he added.

Congress Leader Rahul Gandhi On ‘Mohabbat Ki Dukaan’ Slogan

Being asked about the idea of ‘love’ in reference to his ‘Mohabbat Ki Dukaan’ slogan, the Congress leader said he disagrees with Prime Minister Modi’s point of view but doesn’t hate him or consider him as his enemy.

“That’s more fun, you go in politics, you shout at that guy and that guy shouts back at you, then you abuse him, then he abuses you back. It’s boring stuff,” Rahul Gandhi said.

“You will be surprised, but I don’t actually hate Mr Modi…he has got a point of view, fine, I don’t agree with his point of view but I don’t hate him. In many moments, I empathise with him. I don’t think like he is my enemy. He has a different point of view, I have a different point of view. I have empathy and compassion for what he is doing,” he further added.

Congress Leader Rahul Gandhi On The 2 Major Challenges Faced By The Congress Party & The Opposition

He further remarked that the Congress party and the Opposition faces two major challenges; first to contest elections and second of “undoing the damage” done by BJP-RSS.

“First, contesting the election, we are confident that we will fight and win the elections against BJP. In the next two or three months we will win these elections. Then, undoing the damage that BJP and RSS have done to our institutions is a much deeper problem and that is not going to get solved so easily and so simply. I still have 20+ cases against me…There is a huge set of structures that are being used to attack the opposition – investigative agencies, the legal system that continues, that has to stop. The real challenge is to make institutions neutral again,” Rahul Gandhi further stated.

About Congress Leader Rahul Gandhi’s Visit To The US

Rahul Gandhi who is on a visit to the US, will be in Washington for two days. Earlier in the day, he addressed the Indian diaspora in Virginia.

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

The Congress leader called the Indian diaspora in the US a ‘vital bridge’ between two nations.

The Supreme Court of India on Monday, while hearing a suo motu petition regarding the rape and murder of a doctor at the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, directed the protesting doctors in West Bengal to end their protest and resume work by 5 PM tomorrow. The Apex Court added that if the doctors do not return to work, it cannot restrain the state government from taking appropriate action.

A bench led by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, along with Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, heard the suo motu case.

During the hearing, CJI Chandrachud raised the issue of the mass abstention from work by resident doctors of medical colleges across the state for 28 days, as highlighted by the West Bengal government. The continuous absence has caused significant disruption to the healthcare system in the state, he noted.

“The State of West Bengal must take steps to instill confidence in the doctors that their safety concerns will be addressed. The police shall ensure that necessary conditions are created to ensure the safety of all doctors, including provisions for separate duty rooms, toilet facilities, and the installation of CCTV cameras,” said CJI Chandrachud, according to Live Law.

Addressing the protesting doctors, the CJI said, “The state, in its affidavit, indicated that funds have been sanctioned for implementing these safety measures… this shall be monitored by the District Collectors.”

The CJI further added that if the doctors resume work by 5 PM tomorrow, no action will be taken against them. “However, if there is continued abstention from work despite the provided facilities, there is a likelihood of action in the future,” he concluded.

Earlier today, during hearing, the SC directed CBI to submit a fresh status report by next Thursday, September 17.

He also instructed all to social media platforms to remove all photos of the victim from social media immediately.

The Indian Army killed two terrorists in the intervening night of September 8 and September 9 in an anti-infiltration operation in Nowshera region of Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The terrorists were eliminated during ‘Operation Kanchi’ launched by the White Knight Corps of the Indian Army.

The operation followed inputs from intelligence agencies and Jammu and Kashmir Police. The operation was conducted in Lam region of Nowshera.

The latest success of foiling an infiltration bid comes just days after the army successfully killed three terrorists who were trying to enter India by crossing the Line of Control (LoC) The operation took place in Machhal and Tangdhar sectors of the union territory.

Even this operation, executed successfully by the armed forced followed inputs from intelligence agencies and saw participation from personnel of Jammu and Kashmir Police and Border Security Force (BSF).

The erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir had a special status within Union of India under Article 370 of the constitution. Prime Minister Narendra Modi led Indian government abrogated Article 370 in the year 2019 following which Jammu and Kashmir became a union territory. Although Jammu and Kashmir lost its statehood, the legislative assembly continues to exist.

The union territory will soon hold elections for the legislative assembly. Jammu and Kashmir has a total of 90 assembly seats out of which 47 are in Kashmir while 43 are in Jammu.