During an event in Lucknow on Friday, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi acknowledged that his party too has made mistakes and will have to change its political strategy in the future. He also branded Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as a monarch rather than a democratic leader, alleging that he fronts for "two-three financiers."
Responding to a query about the Constitution during the event organised by the Samruddha Bharat Foundation, Gandhi expressed he was "100 percent" willing to engage in a debate with Modi, though he expected the Prime Minister would not accept the challenge.
"The Congress party will also have to change its politics in the coming times. This will have to be done. I also want to say that the Congress party has also made mistakes and I am saying this while being from the Congress party," he said, as quoted by PTI.
However, he did not go into detail on what “change” he believed the Congress needed. Gandhi asserted that in the Lok Sabha elections, the ruling BJP would be limited to less than 180 seats.
"I can give you in writing if you want, that Narendra Modi is not going to be the PM again," he said, reiterating a prediction he previously made at joint rallies with Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav. "Some people in politics only think of how to get power. I was born into it and have no interest in it. But for me it's just a tool to help the public," he said.
He claimed that people from the SC/ST, OBC, Dalits, tribals, minority groups, and deprived of the general public, who are not granted equal participation, make up 90% of the population in India.
PM Modi King Of The 21st Century, A Front For Financiers Who Have Real Power: Rahul Gandhi
Later, he also advocated for the caste-based census. "If the nation is to be strengthened, it cannot be done without including the 90 per cent. If you say that the 90 per cent will not come into bureaucracy, sports, media, judiciary and even beauty pageants, then what superpower will you make? Do you want to make 10 per cent of the population a superpower," he remarked.
He accused the prime minister of undermining the Constitution. "Modi ji is a king, I am telling the truth,” Gandhi said.
“He is not the prime minister, he is a king. He has nothing to do with the Cabinet, Parliament, or the Constitution. He is the king of the 21st century and is the front for two or three financiers who have the real power," he further added, as quoted by PTI.
After concluding his speech, Gandhi answered three questions, one concerning a recent proposition that he and the Prime Minister should engage in a debate. “I am 100 per cent ready to debate with anyone, with the prime minister. But I know the prime minister will not debate with me,” he said.
He continued saying that party president Mallikarjun Kharge should also take part in a debate. Gandhi stated that the Old Pension Scheme is "open to consideration" in response to a question regarding its exclusion from the party manifesto.
Gandhi responded to a question about whether the Modi government's privatised institutions would ever be nationalised, saying, “It will be difficult but we will not allow the blatant privatisation of big institutions.”