Rahul Gandhi on Sunday described Prime Minister Narendra Modi as an "formidable enemy" and also vowed to send him to political oblivion by following the path of non-violence.
The Congress leader is currently touring southern Tamil Nadu for the second day as part of his second leg of campaign for the April 6 assembly polls in the state.
Today while speaking at 'Educators Meet' at the St Xavier College, he also said he counted on people's votes to defeat BJP.
When a participant wanted to know if Gandhi felt it was possible to nudge the Modi government to implement his 'good ideas' rather than waiting to assume power which seemed 'Utopian', he said it could be done with the 'powerful' and 'valuable' support of the people.
Rahul Gandhi said: Yes we are fighting a formidable enemy (Modi). We are fighting an enemy that is dominating the money in this country. We are fighting an enemy that is crushing its opponents. But we have done this before. We have defeated a much bigger enemy (British) than this new enemy that has come.
"Who is Narendra Modi in comparison to the British empire? nobody. People of this country sent the British empire back and in the same way we will send Narendra Modi back to Nagpur (RSS headquarters in Maharashtra)," he said.
He also said: The essence of all religions was love but the Central government's 'whole game' is to 'steal' money of ordinary people, including farmers through initiatives like farm laws, and give it away to the biggest businesses in the country.
To another question, he said he did not like the Centre's New Education Policy, 2020 either. When a professor alleged the NEP was agenda-driven, Gandhi said any policy on education should be an outcome of deliberations with learners and teachers. "Unfortunately this was not done," he claimed adding, "it concentrated too much power in the hands of the Centre and it was set to damage the education system."
Gandhi also batted for more scholarships so that more and more poor students gest education and underscored women empowerment. To a demand on bringing back education to the state list of the Constitution from the concurrent category, he said, "I don't know we will look into it."
The Election Commission on Friday announced the schedule for assembly polls in Tamil Nadu, Assam, Kerala, West Bengal and Puducherry.
The terms of legislative assemblies of four states -- Tamil Nadu, Assam, Kerala and West Bengal -- are coming to an end in May and June.
Meanwhile, in Puducherry, President's Rule has been imposed and the assembly kept under suspended animation after the V Narayanasamy-led Congress government resigned earlier this week ahead of a vote of confidence.
In Tamil Nadu, the Assembly elections will be held in a single phase. Date of poll: 6 April. Counting on 2 May.
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