Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a blistering attack on the Congress party and Rahul Gandhi, calling the principal Opposition party a “parasite” that prevents others from progressing and saying that its thinking has been influenced by the “Dimagi Naxals”. Speaking at the NDTV World Summit in New Delhi on Thursday, October 22, PM Modi questioned the Congress leadership’s priorities, its approach to political opposition, and its repeated attempts to project a failed product like Rahul Gandhi as the party’s national face.
“Congress has become a parasite that does not want anyone else to progress,” PM Modi said, saying that “Dimagi Naxals” had influenced the party to such an extent that it had lost the ability to think independently. He further said that forces associated with destruction were now operating within the Congress and are seeking to undermine the country.
As a political observer, one can’t help but notice the tilt towards far-left of the Congress party ever since Rahul Gandhi took the reigns of the party. Maybe he saw left parties becoming electorally insignificant and thought that is the way to go for the Grand Old Party of India.
Modi’s sharpest criticism was reserved for the Congress’s continued dependence on the Gandhi family. Taking a swipe at Rahul Gandhi’s repeated attempts to establish himself as a national leader, the Prime Minister invoked ISRO’s launch operations at Sriharikota, quipping that the Congress attempted to launch its leader more frequently than rockets were launched from the country’s spaceport.
PM Modi rightly said that the Congress party was putting India’s achievements and international reputation under scrutiny to protect one family from the consequences of political setbacks. PM Modi said that the Gandhi family has become a burden on its own party, with experienced Congress leaders compelled to tolerate the situation despite their private reservations.
The Prime Minister also accused Congress of drowning out other Opposition voices in Parliament. He said that the party’s confrontational approach prevented younger leaders from other Opposition parties from presenting their views and criticising the government on substantive issues.
PM Modi extended his criticism to protest movements, highlighting that Congress hijacked initiatives that might otherwise have focused on genuine public grievances and democratic reform. He said that political opposition should hold the government accountable through meaningful debate rather than allowing every issue to become a vehicle for promoting a single leader.
The remarks come amid an increasingly confrontational political atmosphere, with Rahul Gandhi and Congress challenging the government on several issues, though Rahul Gandhi left for Vietnam during that confrontation.
Will PM Modi’s remarks make Congress leaders reconsider the direction where they are headed, or will they continue to line up behind Rahul Gandhi? It is anybody’s guess. Actually, there is nothing to guess, they will keep losing but still won’t remove Rahul Gandhi as their leader, and will keep moving further left, if that is possible.
