Divisive politics ruining India’s global reputation: Rahul Gandhi

Rahul Gandhi in New York on Wednesday. (PTI photo)

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday told a gathering of NRIs in New York that India’s global reputation as a peaceful and harmonious nation was being ruined by “divisive politics”. Rahul, on the verge of wrapping up his two-week tour of the US, said while “divisive politics” in India was a cause of worry, the real challenge facing the country was the lack of jobs.

“India has always shown the world how to live in harmony. For thousands of years, India has had a reputation of peace and harmony. This is being challenged. There are forces in our country that are dividing the country and it is very dangerous for the country and it ruins our reputation abroad,” he said.

Gandhi said during his interactions with US Republicans and Democrats, he was often asked what was going on in India. “The single biggest thing most people told me, what has happened to the tolerance that used to prevail in India? What has happened to the harmony in India?… We always believed that your country worked together, we always believed your country was peaceful. What is going on in your country?”

He said the country would “have to fight” this. “India’s reputation in the world is very important. The world is transforming and people are looking towards us. China is rising. We have a relationship with the Unites States. Many countries in a violent world are looking to India and saying, may be, India has the answer to the 21st century,” he said. Speaking about unemployment, Rahul repeated what he had said in Princeton Wednesday: that the “real challenge facing India is that out of 30,000 new youngsters coming in, 450 are getting a job.