Rahul: Modi driving Indian car looking at rear-view mirror, it's crashing

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has taken veiled potshots at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP government at the Centre over the triple-train accident in Odisha, while remarking that the government has found it convenient to blame a previous regime rather than rectifying its own mistakes.

Rahul, who is visiting the US, made the comment while addressing members of the Indian diaspora in the Javit’s Centre in New York on Sunday (June 4). They observed 60-second silence in respect of those who died in the Odisha train accident.

Also read: Poor signalling system led to Odisha rail disaster, says Opposition

The horrific accident that occurred in Odisha’s Balasore district has left at least 280 dead and over a thousand people injured. The accident has brought into focus the issue of railway safety and there has been a demand for the resignation of Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw from some quarters.

“I remember a train accident when the Congress was in power. The Congress did not get up and say now it is the fault of the British that the train has crashed. The Congress minister said it’s my responsibility and I’m resigning. So this is the problem we have back home, we make excuses and we are not accepting the reality we are faced with,” Rahul said, without naming the Congress minister.

He said the BJP and the RSS are incapable of looking into the future.

“He (Prime Minister Narendra Modi) is trying to drive the car…the Indian car and he looks in the rear-view mirror. Then he does not understand why this car is crashing, not moving forward. And it’s the same idea with the BJP, with the RSS. All of them. You listen to the ministers, you listen to the prime minister. You will never find them talking about the future. They only talk about the past,” he said.

“The BJP and the RSS are incapable of looking into the future. They never talk about the future; they only talk about the past. And they will always blame somebody else for the past,” he said.

Also read: Odisha train tragedy: Even ticketless travellers will receive compensation

Rahul told the Indian diaspora that India is currently witnessing a fight between two ideologies – one represented by the Congress and the other by the BJP and the RSS.

“The simplest way to describe this fight is that on one side you have Mahatma Gandhi and on the other side, Nathuram Godse,” he said.

He also praised the Indian-American community for the way they have lived in the US.

Also read: Don’t give communal colour to train accident: Odisha Police’s Twitter warning

“All the giants that have emerged from India, you can see that there were certain qualities that all of them possessed. Firstly, they searched for, represented and fought for the truth. Secondly, all these people were humble, and there was no arrogance in them. That is how Indians have worked in the US, and that’s why Indians are successful here. I respect and honour you for that,” he said.

(With inputs from agencies)