Addressing the Indian diaspora at Hounslow in London, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said it was strange that an Indian political leader like him can give a talk in Cambridge, Harvard, but not in an Indian University.
Rahul said he cannot speak in Indian universities since "our government simply does not allow any idea of the Opposition, any concept of the Opposition to be discussed. Same happens in Parliament house. When there are important things that we need to speak about… demonetisation, GST, the fact that the Chinese are sitting inside our territory… When we try to raise these questions, we are not allowed to raise them in the House. It is a fact. It is shameful but it is true, and this is not the India that all of us are used to."
Rahul reiterates capture of institutions in India
"Our country is an open country… a country where we pride ourselves in our intelligence, respect each other’s opinions, listen to each other and that atmosphere has been destroyed. You can see the narrative in the media, and the reason we were forced to walk across India… the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’… was because all the institutions that protect the democracy, that allow people to speak, that allow an expression of voice are captured by the BJP, and so we decided that a good way to think about it, a good way to act would be to go directly to the people of India and do what used to be our tradition called the Yatra," Rahul Gandhi added.
Rahul explains history of Yatras in India
"Yatra is not just a walk across the country. Many great people in India have gone on a Yatra. Of course, the most famous Yatra was the one done by the Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi but there have been others. Vivekananda Ji apparently walked across the country, my Sikh friends here… Guru Nanak Ji walked across the country, Buddha walked across the country. So, there is a list of people who have used this idea of the Yatra, and the Yatra is actually introspection. It is an attempt to understand what is going on in the country, an attempt to listen to the people, but also an attempt to understand the voice of the people and express the voice."
Rahul talks about economy, crony capitalism
He said: "When there is no competition in the country and one person is making all the money because of his political connections, the strength and energy of the country gets wasted."
Rahul touched upon a range of issues like India's economy, the government suppressing the opposition's voice and the significant of the Bharat Jodo Yatra.
He taunted the US and the Europe for being silent on alleged muzzling of democracy in India.
