Mogambo Modi: Rahul Gandhi attacks PM, says he destroyed democracy, future of youth

At a student outreach event in Chennai, Rahul Gandhi accused Narendra Modi of weakening democracy and targeting Tamil Nadu. He framed questioning authority as a democratic right and said those he blamed would face justice.

In Short

• He urged students to question authority, calling curiosity the foundation of democracy
• He alleged Delhi students faced internet shutdowns, police force and intimidation
• Tamil language, culture and history were portrayed as under sustained threat

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday launched a sharp attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alleging that he was undermining democracy and would have to answer for what he had done to the country. Addressing students, Gandhi said they had nothing to fear, told them "we are with you", and said, "Together, we are going to demolish Modi."

Speaking at the sixth edition of his youth outreach initiative, 'Chhatron Ki Goonj', in Chennai, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha accused Modi of attacking democracy, silencing students and weakening the spirit of questioning. He also alleged attacks on Tamil language, culture and history, and said Tamil Nadu would not be allowed to be targeted.

Gandhi said, "We are going to make sure that Prime Minister Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and this group of conspirators who have destroyed Indian democracy and are using (Chief Election Commissioner) Gyanesh Kumar to steal elections are brought to justice." He added, "No force in this world is going to stop Modi from facing justice."

He accused Modi of directly attacking democracy and engaging in "vote chori" as well as "election chori". Gandhi said, "Modi is silencing voices; as you saw in New Delhi, the entire city was shut down, the internet was shut down, and police were beating students. The BJP also released its own goondas who beat up and thrashed students." He further said, "The problem is, Mr Modi does not understand that the game is over. The drama that he has been doing in this country for the past 15 years is coming to an end. The opposition has surrounded Mr Modi, Mr Shah, Mr Doval and Mohan Bhagwat We are going to ensure that Modi pays for the crimes he has committed against the country." Gandhi added that nobody could attack the democratic foundation of India or its Constitution and escape justice, saying, "Doesn't matter who he is, whether he is the prime minister or the home minister. We are going to bring these people to justice for what they have done."

Calling the prime minister "Mogambo Modi", Gandhi said Modi was destroying India's democracy, likening him to the villain from the film 'Mr. India' played by Amrish Puri. As he said this, the screen behind him played the "Mogambo khush hua" scene from the 1987 film with Modi's face superimposed on Amrish Puri's. Later, in a post on X, Gandhi wrote, "Mogambo Modi has destroyed democracy and the future of India's youth. No power on earth can stop Modi, Shah, Bhagwat, Doval and Gyanesh from being brought to justice."

At the event, Gandhi also claimed that the prime minister had been compromised by financial and international forces, who "control Modi". He said, "Modi is fighting for survival. The mood in India, the mood among the students, and the work that the opposition has done is catching up with him." In a message to students in Delhi, he asked them not to worry and to "stand up for everything you believe in and never stop asking questions".

Turning to Tamil Nadu, Gandhi accused Modi and Shah of launching "a full-scale attack on Tamil culture, language and history". He said, "What we are seeing is a full-scale attack on Tamil culture On your language, history and traditions. But we are not going to let Modi attack them." Referring to a video of Amit Shah played at the venue, Gandhi said, "As you can see in the video, he (Shah) is openly saying that Hindi should be imposed on the people of Tamil Nadu. He is publicly saying that Tamil culture, language and history are secondary to his language, his history to his tradition."

He then listed what he described as ways in which democracy was being weakened. "The first is language imposition. A total of Rs 3,300 crore has been withheld from Tamil Nadu via the New Education Policy. The government of India is withholding money that you should get. Second, centralisation. There is an 87 per cent fall in Tamil medium students' share of MBBS seats because of NEET," he said. "The third is 'RSSification' – 70 per cent of your state universities are without vice-chancellors because the governor wants to ensure that RSS people run your universities," Gandhi claimed.

Gandhi also said the proposed delimitation exercise was designed to "punish" Tamil Nadu and reduce its voice in Parliament. His remarks came amid speculation that the government could bring a Constitution Amendment Bill involving delimitation for the early implementation of the women's reservation law. Parliament has not been prorogued so far, though it was adjourned sine die on August 13, the last day of the Monsoon Session. On April 17, the Constitution Amendment Bill to implement women's reservation in legislatures in 2029, and increase the number of Lok Sabha seats, was defeated in the Lower House.

Describing these as attacks on the people of Tamil Nadu and on their language, culture, tradition and history, Gandhi said, "Modi uses fear, hatred and division to carry out these attacks. But we are not going to let Modi attack the Tamil language, history and culture, nothing... He is not going to touch Tamil Nadu." He also said that whenever he came to Tamil Nadu, he learnt something from the people of the state.

Speaking on the role of students, Gandhi said curiosity was the foundation of progress. Quoting Periyar, he said, "Do not follow anything just because someone else has said it. Analyse and inquire into everything." He also quoted Thiruvalluvar: "The deeper you dig a well in sand, more water springs up; the more you learn, the more knowledge flows." Gandhi interacted with students on stage through an interpreter as they spoke in Tamil. He said, "Anything you do will always begin with a question you ask. So, questioning is the foundation of curiosity. The question is at the heart of human progress. Not just that, democracy itself emerges from asking questions." He added, "Democracy is your right to ask questions. The Constitution protects your right to question, and the vote ensures that you get answers from the people who lead you, who run the government," and said an attack on curiosity was also an attack on democracy.

'Chhatron Ki Goonj' was held in Chennai for the first time in south India after earlier editions in Kota, Dehradun, Prayagraj, Pune and Indore. At the event, Gandhi combined his criticism of the Centre with an appeal to students to keep asking questions, while repeating that those he accused of weakening democracy would be brought to justice.

- Ends
With PTI inputs