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Newsroom24x7 Editor-in-Chief Lalit Shastri, in this opening edition, of “The Last Word” takes Congress leader Rahul Gandhi head on over his pungent remarks against the Prime Minister of India and his futile bid to pass on a bundle of lies as truth when he said even a leader like him is not allowed to speak in Parliament; besides also the aspersions he chose to cast on the judicial system and the office of the Lieutenant Governor while addressing a public meeting in Puducherry earlier in February 2021.

Drilling holes in Rahul Gandhi’s speech at Mudaliarpet in Puducherry, Lalit Shastri said in The Last Word:

When Rahul Gandhi talks of many histories, he is obviously talking like an intellectual slave of the West. In the present context, especially his utterances at Puducherry, he talks of many histories. His speech writer must be obsessed by the theory propounded by the leftist historian Romila Thapar – more particularly her book “The past before us: historical traditions of early India” published by Cambridge and printed by Harvard University Press not long ago. Well for Rahul’s knowledge, let me tell him, India or the vast Indian subcontinent, just like other parts of the world, has one history. One might study, conduct or join a research on a specific period in history but that would not allow us to say India has many histories. Rahul also said most countries “have one language and one tradition and that India has many languages, many histories, many traditions”.
Rahul Gandhi forgets that China too has over 100 languages, France – three dozen languages and even a country like England with a small area compared to India has over 2  dozen languages. India’s census till recently recognised 3000 languages. Even now there are 300 recognised languages in India. It is common sense that countries that have thousands of years of history have evolved their own cultures and way of life. Now coming to linguistic minorities in India, there are still at least 20 languages that are spoken by less than 10 people.  
Rahul Gandhi – the defacto one man Congress high command was at his diabolic best or should I say at his diabolic worst when he not only mounted a direct attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi but also trampled on the letter and spirit of the Constitution that provides for the creation and the institutionalised mechanism for the administration of Union Territories, the constitutional office of LG and the judicial system

Nothing could be a bigger lie than saying, leaders like him are not allowed to speak in Parliament and that bills are getting passed withot discussion. Everyone is witness to the mockery Rahul had made of the dicussion on Budget only the other day, when he chose to speak just on the farmers agitation and not a word on the intricacies of the Budget.

Rahul went too far and blatantly chose to spread falsehood when he said: “The Indian people are being denied justice by the judicial system and journalists are fearful for their lives under Modi. He even said PM Modi thinks he is king of India.

Rahul tried to divide the country and strike at the very foundation of the federal structure of India by giving the impression that the Prime Minister considers Puducherry as his personal property. He crossed the limit by saying “Puducherry does not belong to someone outside Puducherry.”

On one occasion, he has also questioned the appointment of an outsider as LG of Puducherry. Taking off from this argument, Lalit Shastri said, one would like to ask Rahul Gandhi what about his own mother, Italian-born Indian politician Sonia Gandhi? Does she qualify to decide the fate of the people of India going by Rahul’s own warped, misplaced and twisted logic. 

Transcript of Rahul Gandhi’s speech

Puducherry has a very unique culture and history.

There are many different cultures, languages and traditions in this country.

In fact all these different cultures, languages and traditions are what make our country so strong and unique.

Most countries have one language, one tradition, one religion. India has many languages, many histories, many traditions. And when you ask a foreigner – What is India’s strength? They will tell you – your many languages, your many traditions, your many histories. And most important – the act that all these different languages, traditions, ideas – they live peacefully harmoniously and affectionately. To us in the Congress, it does not matter, how many people speak a language. It does not matter, how many people share a tradition. It does not matter how many people share…. So Puducherry might be small but it is as important as the biggest State in the country. And there is a reason, why we think like like this. Because we sincerely believe that all the different traditions in India are what make this country so wonderful.

So my first message to you today is that it does not matter what happens but we will defend your tradition, your culture, your language and your unique history. We will defend it, of course because we love the people of Puducherry. But we will also defend it because we love the people of India. So if you say that Puducherry is India then you also have to say that India is Puducherry. It cannot be anything but a relationship of respect. Because we are part of a nation. We are pieces of the same nation. Puducherry does not belong to someone outside Puducherry. It not the personal property of anybody. And anybody who thinks that Puducherry is their personal property is going to be in for a surprise.

They might think that Puducherry is small. They might think there are not many people in this lovely city. But they do not understand the spirit of the people of India.

For the last five years, Puducherry has had an elected government. It was elected by citizens of Puducherry. It was a government chosen by the people of Puducherry and it was a government that the people of Puducherry chose because they wanted a particular future. And for the last five years, the Prime Minister of this country has not allowed the government of Puducherry to work. The Prime Minister has personally insulted the vote of the people of Puducherry. Through the office of the LG, he has repeatedly sent you a message, saying to you that your vote does not matter. He’s repeatedly todl you that the only thing that matters is that he is the Prime Minister of India. He has taken your dreams, your aspirations and worked against them – also by destroying the institution of the Lieutenant Governor – Just like he destroys all other institutions of this country. Today an Indian person cannot get justice from the judicial system. A journalists who write articles are fearful for their lives. In the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, Bills are passed without any discussion. Elected leaders like myself are not allowed to speak in the Lok Sabha because one man thinks, he is not the Prime Minister but he is the king of the country.

Prime Minister of India would respect the will of the people of Puducherry. He would give Puducherry the resources that are rightfully theirs. None of this has been done by the Prime Minister. So when you go to vote remember that the last time you went to vote, the Prime Minister of India challenged your vote. He disrespected your tradition, he disrespected your history. He disrespected your past and if anybody disrespects your past, they are going to disrespect your future. We are committed to ensuring that your vote translates into a positive future.