Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi waves during the Sadbhav Yatra in Gurugram on May 8, 2026. | Photo credit: ANI
Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, said on Friday (May 8, 2026) that only the Congress can defeat the BJP, describing the contest as a clash between the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s (RSS) “ideology of hate and division” and the Congress’ “ideology of love and unity”.
“This is a battle of ideologies. Other parties cannot accept them. In the end only Congress will stand against them and defeat them. Congress will defeat Amit Shah and (Narendra) Modi,” Mr Gandhi told a jubilant crowd on Khandsa Road during former MP Brijendra Singh’s “Sadbhav Yatra”.
Mr. Gandhi’s presence at the padayatra marked a display of unity in the faction-ridden Haryana unit. He was joined on stage by Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee President Rao Narender Singh, Leader of the Opposition and former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Rajya Sabha MP Randeep Surjewala.
Both Mr. Narender Singh and Mr. Hooda, who had earlier dismissed the padayatra as a “personal effort” by Mr. Brijendra Singh and stayed away, congratulated him on the initiative.
About the trade agreement with the USA
Mr Gandhi hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing him of attacking the democratic system and Ambedkar’s constitution, and vowed that the Congress would not forget it.
“Take my word for it, the Congress will defeat Narendra Modi. Then you will see what steps we take,” he said, calling Mr. Modi “compromised” and arguing that no other prime minister could have signed a deal with the United States where India “got nothing.”
He argued that the deal would hurt Indian farmers and threaten the agricultural sector.
Mr Gandhi cited two reasons for this (for the deal): the “Epstein file”, which he said contained the “entire history” of Mr Modi, and the ongoing US criminal case against businessman (Gautam) Adani. He also claimed that US President Donald Trump had said that he could “end Narendra Modi’s career in a single minute”.
Mr. Gandhi’s attendance also underscored the close ties between Mr. Brijendra Singh’s family and the Gandhis. Mr. Singh’s father, former Union Minister Choudhary Birender Singh, was close to the late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. This gesture strengthens Mr. Brijendra Singh’s position in the state unit and undermines his rivals.
Mr Brijendra Singh, who launched the state-wide padayatra last October after the Assembly elections, said the ‘Sadbhav Yatra’ had been going on for over seven months, covering 2,700 km and 85 assembly constituencies to promote harmony and counter the “BJP’s propagated hatred”. In the 2024 election, he lost the seat to Uchan Kalan by a margin of 32 votes.
Inspired by Mr Gandhi’s ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’, the march highlighted issues ranging from international to local, including electoral malpractices, unemployment, farmers’ angst, law and order, MGNREGA and Dalit concerns, alleging that the BJP government was doing nothing, Mr Brijendra Singh said.
Published – 09 May 2026 01:40 IST
