‘Democracy under attack’: Rahul Gandhi slams Modi govt during Colombia visit

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, has once again sharpened his attack on the Narendra Modi-led Union government, this time from Colombia. Speaking to students at EIA University, Gandhi said that the “biggest threat to India today” is the assault on democratic institutions.

“India is a country of many religions, traditions, and languages. Democracy gives space for all of them. But right now, the democratic system is under attack from all sides,” he told the gathering of engineering students.

Gandhi went on to frame India’s challenges within the context of global power struggles. Tracing the history of how empires rose and fell during major energy transitions, he said the British controlled the coal-and-steam era, while the United States dominated the age of oil and the internal combustion engine. The world, he argued, is now witnessing a shift to electric motors and battery technology — with China and the US vying to control the transition.

“China is winning so far,” Gandhi said, noting that India sits “right in the middle” of this clash between maritime and land-based powers. He added that India’s decentralised, diverse structure and its deep spiritual traditions give it unique strengths compared to China’s centralised model. “India cannot suppress its people the way China does,” he said.

Speaking about the United States, the Congress leader remarked that Donald Trump’s politics of polarisation targeted the most vulnerable, especially the unemployed.

Back home, BJP MP and actor Kangana Ranaut slammed Gandhi’s remarks. Calling him a “disgrace,” she accused the Congress leader of repeatedly insulting India on foreign soil. “He is trying to defame the country everywhere, criticising the people of India as quarrelsome and dishonest. He always brings shame to the country, and the country is ashamed of him,” she said.