'It is ridiculous to say that the time of Congress is over', Says Rahul Gandhi

LONDON: Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said that the Bharatiya Janata Party likes to believe that it will remain in power in India, but that's not the case. He said that it is ridiculous to say that the time of Congress is over. During an interactive session at the Chatham House think tank on Monday during his visit to the UK, Rahul Gandhi also stressed that the political dialogue should not focus on the changing nature of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA). It became one of the main reasons for the failure of the government.

He said, "If we look at the time since independence till today, Congress was in power most of the time. Before the BJP was in power for 10 years, we were in power for 10 years. The BJP likes to believe that it came to power in India and will remain forever, but that is not the case.” He said, "We were focusing a lot on the rural area and initially we lost the urban areas. It is a fact but it is really ridiculous to say that the BJP is in power and the time of the Congress is over."

BJP has accused Rahul Gandhi of defaming India on foreign soil while praising China. Union Minister Anurag Thakur on Monday hit out at the Congress leader for his statements and urged him not to betray the country.

Anurag Thakur said, "Rahul Gandhi ji, don't betray India. Questioning India's foreign policy shows that you don't understand the issue. The attempts you make to defame your country after going abroad, spreading falsehoods... No one will believe it.” Thakur alleged that Gandhi wanted to hide his failures on foreign soil by “defaming India”.