‘Independent thinking under attack in India,’ says Rahul Gandhi in Chile, BJP slams him

Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, has once again targeted the BJP-led NDA government in India on foreign soil, alleging that the idea of free and scientific thinking was under “tremendous attack” in India. He also accused the government of creating massive trading monopolies and weakening small and medium businesses. Rahul made the comments during an interaction with students at the University of Chile on the country’s education system. While interacting with students at the University of Chile, Rahul Gandhi said, “There are tremendous attacks on independent thinking, scientific thought, and rationality in India.”

When a student asked what he would like to do about the Indian education system, Rahul Gandhi replied, while referring to her, “The curiosity that Amrita has, I would like to protect it in the Indian education system. And make sure that she can ask questions, she can raise issues, she can think openly without being constrained in any way. So that would be the central idea... And this is, by the way, in India, this is under attack. The idea of free thinking, the idea of being open, the idea of being scientific, of being logical, this is under tremendous attack in India currently.”

‘India’s social system is dominated by upper castes’

He added that India’s social system is dominated by upper castes, while nearly 90 per cent of the population is of middle and lower castes. “Their history, traditions, and thinking have not been given a place in education. Our education system is for the upper castes. Therefore, I would like to include the history and traditions of tribal, middle, and lower castes in the education system,” he said.

He further said that India’s education system has suffered greatly in the last ten years and scientific consciousness has been destroyed because the current government does not believe in a scientific approach. “This needs to be corrected. I would like to do this,” he said.

‘BJP government is creating massive trading monopolies’

The Congress leader further alleged that the BJP government is creating massive trading monopolies and claimed that the biggest companies in India today are not manufacturers or producers but traders with immense monopolistic power.

“BJP’s policies are deliberately weakening small and medium businesses, the true backbone of India’s manufacturing sector,” Rahul said.

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Reacting to the remarks, the BJP has hit out at Rahul Gandhi, accusing him of again besmirching India on foreign soil.

“Rahul Gandhi is not Leader of the Opposition. He is the leader of propaganda, of hypocrisy. He goes abroad and talks against India’s constitutional bodies, India’s democratic system, India’s judiciary, and India’s sovereignty—this has become his habit,” said BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla.

“Rahul Gandhi says he is fighting against the Indian state. From opposing Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he is now into spreading lies against India. He says there is no space for free thinking. That happens in your party. If someone speaks against Rahul Gandhi, what happens? Look at Shashi Tharoor. He was made an example of because he championed the cause of the country and its armed forces,” he added.

Rahul has recently returned from a trip to South American countries. A video of his interaction at the university was shared on his social media account.