BBC row is example of suppression of voice: Rahul Gandhi in London talk
New Delhi, March 5: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi launched a scathing attack at BJP-led Centre on Sunday, saying BJP under its “new Idea of India” wants India to be “silent”. The Wayanad MP also said that the recent raids conducted at the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) offices across India “suppression of voice.”
Gandhi's strong remarks came as he attended an interaction arranged by the Indian Journalists Association in London.
Speaking at the event, the senior Congress leader, on being asked about the controversy regarding the BBC documentary and centre's allegations of a "colonial hangover," said that "it's sort of similar to Mr Adani, it's also a colonial hangover."
"You know every place there is Opposition, there is an excuse. You asked why we did the yatra, and what was the idea behind the yatra. The idea behind the yatra was an expression of voice. And there is suppression of voice across the country. Example is the BBC, but BBC is just one element of it.," Rahul Gandhi said.
"You found out, well, the BBC has found out now, but it's been going on in India for the last nine years, non-stop, everybody knows about that. Journalists are intimidated, they (are) attacked, they are threatened. And you know the journalists who toed the line of the government, are rewarded. So it's part of a pattern, and I wouldn't expect anything different."
He added that BJP wants India to be "silent" under the "new Idea of India".
"If the BBC stops writing against the government, everything will go back to normal, all the cases will disappear. So this is the new Idea of India. BJP wants India to be silent. They want it to be quiet, the Dalits, the lower castes, the Adivasis, the media they want silence, and they want silence because they want to be able to take what is India's and give it to their close friends," he further stated.
"That's basically the idea. Distract the population, and then hand over India's wealth to two, three, four, or five big people. I mean we have seen this, we have seen this before also, but that's not something."
- ANI
