Maharshtra, October 3: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis launched a scathing attack on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi following the latter’s remarks on democracy during his interaction with students at Columbia University. Fadnavis alleged that Gandhi does not believe in the power of the Indian Constitution and accused him of spreading misinformation abroad.
“Rahul Gandhi does not believe in the power of the Indian Constitution at all. One reason for this is that he is unfamiliar with India’s history. He has a tendency against our Constitution in his mind. That is why I say again and again that he is a serial liar,” Fadnavis said in Mumbai on Thursday.
He further reminded that Gandhi’s grandmother, former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, had imposed the Emergency in 1975, which was strongly resisted by the Indian people.
Rahul Gandhi’s Comments in Columbia
At the EIA University in Columbia, Gandhi addressed engineering students and warned that India’s democracy was “under attack”. “India has many religions, traditions, and languages. A democratic system provides a place for everyone. But right now, the democratic system is under attack from all sides,” he said.
He described India as a “conversation between its people” and said democracy was the best way to give space to diverse traditions, languages, and ideas. “Currently, there is a wholesale attack on the democratic system in India,” Gandhi asserted.
India, China and Global Relevance
Responding to a question on India’s position in the global order, Gandhi contrasted India’s decentralised system with China’s centralised model. He added that India could not adopt an authoritarian design like China’s, given its diversity.
Gandhi also linked global power shifts to energy transitions, citing the British Empire’s rise through coal and steam, America’s dominance via oil and the internal combustion engine, and the ongoing competition between the US and China over electric mobility. He remarked, “The Chinese are winning so far.”
Political Fallout
The BJP reacted sharply, branding Gandhi the “Leader of Propaganda” and accusing him of targeting Indian democracy on foreign soil. Party leaders, including Fadnavis, said his statements undermine India internationally, while the Congress has defended his remarks as a defence of democratic values.
