Asura-shakti: “We are fighting against hatred-filled Asura-shakti,” says Rahul Gandhi as he takes on PM Modi

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi reiterated his ‘Shakti’ statement, saying that they are fighting the rage-filled “Asura-shakti.” The statement sparked a controversy, with BJP leaders criticizing him while Congress leaders supported him. Gandhi, speaking at a rally in Mumbai, highlighted the party’s fight against what he called “Shakti” in Hinduism, referring to institutions like the EVM, ED, CBI, and the Income Tax Department.

“We are fighting against hatred-filled ‘Asura-shakti’,” the Congress leader told reporters after holding a press conference in the national capital.

After Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Shakti’ statement sparked controversy, BJP leaders criticized him for his statement, while the Congress rallied behind the Wayanad MP and supported him.

In Mumbai, where the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra recently concluded, Rahul Gandhi told a rally, “There is a word ‘Shakti’ in Hinduism. We are fighting against Shakti. The question is, what is Shakti? The soul of the king is in EVM. This is true. The king’s soul is in EVM and every institution of the country, in ED, CBI and Income Tax Department.”

The party’s general secretary, KC Venugopal, emphasized their appeal to the people to save democracy, saying that they are directly communicating with the public. Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi criticized the Centre, saying there is “no democracy” in India today, saying the BJP’s actions have harmed India’s democracy.

“So we will go directly to the people. We appeal to the people. We appeal to the people to save democracy. Whatever happens, we will fight for it,” he added. Rahul Gandhi on Thursday slammed the Center and asserted that there is “no democracy” in India today, calling the idea that India is a democracy a lie. He asserted that the BJP is doing great harm to Indian democracy by blocking the accounts of the largest opposition party. “This is a criminal action by the Congress party, a criminal action by the Prime Minister and the Home Minister. So, the idea that India is a democracy is a lie. There is no democracy in India today. The idea that India is the world’s largest democracy is a lie. An absolute lie,” he said.

“20 percent of India voted for us and we can’t afford to pay Rs 2 for anything. This is being arranged to cripple us in the elections. Even if our bank accounts are not frozen now, huge amounts of debt damage has been done to Indian democracy,” he added.

He also criticized the Election Commission for not acting on the matter. Earlier on March 8, the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal had recently dismissed the Congress Party’s plea seeking a stay against the Income Tax Department’s proceedings, stating that the Stay Application was without merit.

“What amuses me is that there are institutions in this country that are supposed to protect the democratic framework. There is an Election Commission in the country but it has not said anything; that you have frozen the bank accounts of one of the biggest political parties and biggest opposition in the country,” he added.

Addressing a press conference in Delhi, Rahul Gandhi said that all the bank accounts of the Congress have been frozen, the party cannot do campaign work, cannot support party workers, and cannot support party candidates.

All our bank accounts have been frozen. We can’t do campaign work, we can’t support our workers, we can’t support our candidates. This was done two months before the election campaign. One notice is from the 90s, another from 6-7 years ago. The quantum amount is Rs 14 lakhs and penalty – our entire financial identity. All institutions are silent and the Election Commission has not said anything,” said Rahul Gandhi.

“This is not the freezing of the bank accounts of the Congress party; this is the freezing of Indian democracy. As the largest opposition party, we cannot take any action – we cannot book ads or send our leaders anywhere. This is an attack on democracy,” he added.

Rahul Gandhi also criticized the BJP for the alleged actions against the Congress party, saying, “This is a criminal action on the Congress party, a criminal action taken by the Prime Minister and the Minister of Internal. So, the idea that India is a democracy is a lie. There is no democracy in India today. The idea that India is the largest democracy in the world is a lie. An absolute lie.”

(With inputs from ANI)