Indian National Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday (4) took yet another dig at prime minister Narendra Modi in the US saying his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its ideological mentor Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) are "incapable of looking at the future" and could only talk about the past. He also accused the prime minister of driving the car (India) while looking in the rear-view mirror.
Addressing members of the Indian diaspora at Javits Centre in New York, the 52-year-old leader said, “He (prime minister Narendra Modi) is trying to drive the car…the Indian car and he looks in the rear-view mirror. Then he does not understand why this car is crashing, not moving forward. And it’s the same idea with the BJP, with the RSS. All of them. You listen to the ministers, you listen to the prime minister. You will never find them talking about the future. They only talk about the past”.
The Indian National Congress leader, who lost his membership of the parliament over a conviction related to a defamation case, said the BJP and RSS speak only about the past and always “blame somebody else for the past”.
In India, there is a fight going on between two ideologies — one represented by the Congress and the other by the BJP and the RSS, the former president of the Congress said.
“The simplest way to describe this fight is that on one side you have Mahatma Gandhi and on the other side, Nathuram Godse,” Gandhi added.
The opposition leader also spoke on the deadly triple train crash that took place in the eastern Indian state of Odisha on Friday (2), saying during the time when his party was in power, ministers used to take responsibilities for their actions if train mishaps took place and that they accepted their mistakes.
“I remember a train accident when the Congress was in power. The Congress did not get up and say ‘now it is the fault of the British that the train has crashed’. The Congress minister said ‘it’s my responsibility and I’m resigning’. So this is the problem we have back home, we make excuses and we are not accepting the reality we are faced with,” Gandhi said.
He also tweeted in Hindi slamming the Modi government over the tragedy and said railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw should quit.
More than 270 people were killed in the accident while more than 1,100 got injured.
A one-minute silence was also observed to pay respect to those who died in the crash.
During his 40-minute speech, the Indian leader also praised the Indian-American community for the way they have lived in the US.
“All the giants that have emerged from India, you can see that there were certain qualities that all of them possessed. Firstly, they searched for, represented and fought for the truth. Secondly, all these people were humble, and there was no arrogance in them. That is how Indians have worked in the US, and that’s why Indians are successful here. I respect and honour you for that.”
Gandhi is currently on a three-city tour to the US. He has visited California, the Bay area, Washington and New York to interact with the Indian communities, think tanks and the press.
His remarks targeted at Modi have irked the BJP in India which has also criticised him in strong terms.
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Rescue personnel provide medical treatment to a child at an army rescue camp in Trishuli Batar, Nepal, on August 27, 2026. A sudden flood swept through the Bhote Koshi River basin in northern Rasuwa on August 26, damaging settlements, roads and energy infrastructure, as rescue teams searched for residents and foreign travellers reported out of contact. Hundreds were reported missing as the death toll began to climb. Getty Ima
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