In US, Rahul Gandhi slams BJP govt, says Muslims are feeling 'attacked'

Flaying the Bharatiya Janata Partyled central government Congress leader Rahul Gandhi Wednesday said what is happening to Muslims in India today happened to Dalits in the 1980s and it has to be fought with affectionSpeaking at an event Mohabbat Ki Dukaan in San Francisco in the United States Gandhi alleged that the impact of some actions of the BJPled government was being felt by minorities and people from the Dalit and tribal community ANI reportedThe Congress leader was responding to a question concerning Muslims in India from Bay Area Muslim community and the steps Congress will take to tackle the issues faced by them He is on a sixday visit to the United States to interact with the Indian diaspora and express the Congress partys commitment to democratic values in India and across the worldIt is being felt by the Muslims most directly because it is done most directly to them But in fact it is done to all communities The way you Muslims are feeling attacked I can guarantee Sikhs Christians Dalits and tribals are feeling the same You cant cut hatred with hatred but only with love and affection Gandhi saidAlso this is a periodical thing What is happening to Muslims in India today happened to Dalits in the 1980s If you went to UP in the 1980s this was happening with DalitsWe have to challenge it fight it and do it with love and affection and not with hatred and we will do that he addedDuring the event Rahul Gandhi also spoke about economic inequality and said that while some people were finding it difficult to make ends meet about five people have lakhs of crores rupees The Congress leader talked about the caste census conducted during the Congressled UPA government MNREGA and the NYAY Nyuntam Aay Yojana proposed by the CongressAlso readMumbai Sex racket busted 17yearold girl rescued two arrestedWhen we were in power we had carried out the caste census The idea was to take an XRay of society Because without understanding the exact demographic and who is who it is very difficult to distribute power effectively We have been asking the BJP to release the numbers of the caste census and they are of course not doing it When we will come to power we will do that he saidWe are committed to making India a fair place We understand deeply that India today in terms of its treatment of Dalits tribals the poor and minorities is not a fair place And there are many things that can be done The NYAY scheme that we proposed MNREGA increases education and healthcare spending all these things can be doneAttacking the Narendra Modi government he alleged that it does not want to discuss issues of price rise unemployment and inequality and was trying to cause distractionsI would have to look at exactly how they are planning to do it delimitation exercise to increase the number of MPs What criteria they are using I would be interested to know how have they come up with the number 800 These things should not be done flippantly India is a conversation a negotiation between its languages its people their history and its culture And the negotiation has to be fairAll sections of the country should feel that there is fairness in the process of negotiation But these are all distractions The real issue is price rise unemployment and inequality BJP cant really discuss them so they have to do the old sceptre thin Lying down and doing all that Arent you happy that I am not lying down he askedAnswering another query he said as per Constitution the definition of India is Union of StatesThe idea is that the history culture and language of each and every state has to be protected under the union BJPRSS is attacking that idea as well as the Constitution of India I know that Tamil is more than just a language for the people of Tamil Nadu And I would never allow the Tamil language to be threatened Because for me an attack on Tamil Bengali Hindi Kannada or Punjabi is an attack on India he saidAnswering a query he said allies of Congress had objections to Womens Reservation Bill and the party will work for its passage when it comes to power ANI