Indian democracy’s collapse will impact the world, warns Rahul Gandhi in US
A collapse of Indian democracy will impact the world and is not in the US interest too, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said, adding quickly that “it is an internal matter of the country” and he was fighting for it.
“It is our job, it is our business, and it is our work to fight the battle for democracy in India. And it is something that we understand, we accept, and we do,” he told reporters at the National Press Club in Washington on Thursday. Gandhi, a former Congress president, is on a six-day tour of the United States.
He said it needed to be remembered that Indian democracy is a global public good. “Because India is large enough that a collapse in democracy in India will affect… will have an impact on the world. So that is for you to think about how much you have to value Indian democracy. But for us, it is an internal matter, it is a fight we are committed to, and we are going to … win.”
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Indo-US ties
Responding to a question, Gandhi said there was a need to broaden the India-US relationship beyond just defence relationships. “India has to do what is in its interest. And that is what will guide us… So, I am not entirely convinced about the sort of autocratic vision that is being promoted,” Gandhi said.
“I think that it is very important that democracy is protected on the planet. So, India has a role there. India, of course, has its view on things, and I think that that view should be put on the table, but I don’t think one should think about these things as the centre of things. I think … that would be arrogant,” he said.
“We understand the strengths we bring to the table: democratic values, data, these are some of the things that technology, a highly educated, technically educated population. These are our strengths. I think we have to chart our course based on these strengths.” He said the US and India have synergies and if they come together, they can be very powerful.
Chinese worldview
“What we are facing is a particular vision of the world, the Chinese vision of the world that offers productivity, and prosperity, but under a non-democratic field. That is not acceptable to us because we simply cannot thrive under non-democratic (system). So, we have to think about productive production and prosperity in a democratic field. And I think that is where the bridge between India and the United States can play a very important role for us and for you,” the former MP said.
Gandhi said the Chinese system offers prosperity, but under a non-democratic system. “I feel an alternative vision needs to be put on the table. That is the real challenge facing the United States and India and other democracies. What exactly does a countervailing vision look like and what are the core elements of that vision?”
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“I think we are in the midst of a number of transitions. We are in the midst of a transition in mobility, a transition in energy, a transition in communication. How do we, how do we think about those transitions? I think those are really the big questions,” he said.
“Of course, with regards to the United States, we have cooperation on defence, and that is very important, but I think it is equally important to widen the relationship and make it broader so it is more secure,” he added.
Sino-Indian row
The Congress leader insisted that China was occupying Indian territory. “It is an accepted fact. I think 1,500 square kilometres of land, the size of Delhi, is occupied by them. It is absolutely unacceptable. The Prime Minister seems to believe otherwise. Maybe he knows something that we don’t know.” The Indian government has in the past rejected similar claims by Gandhi and others.
(With agency inputs)
