'Anyone who raise questions to Modi govt is attacked, same happened with BBC': Rahul Gandhi in London

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, told India Today in a press conference in London, that anybody who supports Prime Minister Narendra Modi blindly is supported and those who raise questions about him or his government are attacked, adding that this is what happened with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).

The two-part BBC documentary, which claims it investigated certain aspects relating to the 2002 Gujarat riots when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the CM of that state, was trashed by the Ministry of External Affairs as a "propaganda piece" that lacked objectivity and reflected a "colonial mindset".

When asked whether he will be the next PM candidate, Rahul Gandhi said that is not up for discussion and the central idea of the Opposition is to defeat the BJP and the RSS.

On solving issues such as unemployment, Rahul Gandhi said, "The problems are solved by talking to people."

"The idea that one person solves all these problems is superficial. These problems require conversations with stakeholders and responsive government. I don't agree with a top-down, one-man, Narendra Modi-style thing who runs around with a magic wand to fix things," Rahul Gandhi told India Today.

The former Congress chief, who was accused of defaming India



abroad by the BJP, also hit back, saying it was Prime Minister Narendra Modi who showed India in bad light through his speeches abroad.

"Last time I recall the prime minister going abroad and announcing that there has been nothing done in 70 years of independence. I remember him saying we had lost a decade of 10 years. He said there is unlimited corruption in India. He said all this abroad," Rahul Gandhi said, adding that the BJP twisted his words.

"I have never defamed my country. I will never do it. When he says nothing happened in 70 years, isn't that an insult to every Indian?" he asked.

On Congress's China policy, Rahul Gandhi said, "We won't allow anyone coming in and pushing us around."

"The reality is that the Chinese entered our territory, killed our soldiers and the prime minister has denied it," he added.

Rahul Gandhi is on a week-long tour of the UK and is scheduled to hold some closed-door sessions on Big Data and Democracy and India-China relations at Cambridge University.

The Congress leader will be speaking at a diaspora event organised by the UK chapter of the IOC. He will also speak at a parliament event and also at the premier think tank of the UK Chatham house. He flies off on March 7.