Fear created by PM Modi 'history' now: Rahul Gandhi

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has said the results of the general elections in India this summer destroyed the "idea of Modi" and the "fear" created by the prime minister vanished, becoming "history". The Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha is currently on a four-day visit to the United States. He addressed the prestigious Georgetown University and another event in Herndon, a Virginia suburb of Washington DC on Monday.

Addressing the event, Gandhi said the Lok Sabha elections were not fought on a level playing field and claimed that the ruling coalition led by the BJP had collapsed, breaking "right down the middle". Asserting that things have changed after the Lok Sabha results were announced, Gandhi said, "The fear created by Modiji vanished in a second. It took years to cultivate that fear, a lot of planning and money was involved but it took only a second for it to evaporate." Prime Minister Narendra Modi formed a government for the third time after the Lok Sabha elections this year, however, the BJP did not get a majority on its own. "I can tell you that the idea of Mr Modi 56-inch chest, direct connection with God that's all gone, its history now," Gandhi said. He claimed the ruling coalition had collapsed and was broken "right down the middle". “It's not just the prime minister, it's deeper than that.

What has happened is that the coalition that brought Mr Modi to power has collapsed," he said. "So you'll see in these elections that they will struggle. Because the basic idea that Mr Modi is running a government for the people of India is gone,” he added. Alleging that the Lok Sabha elections were not fought on the same footing, Gandhi said, "I don't see it as a free election.''