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BJP govt trying to sabotage Rahul Gandhi's outreach programme: AICC secretary Yaski to WION

WION
New Delhi, Delhi, IndiaWritten By: Kartikeya SharmaUpdated: Aug 17, 2018, 10:44 PM IST
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Rahul Gandhi. Photograph:(Twitter)

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Rahul Gandhi is expected to visit Hamburg on 22nd August, Berlin on 23rd and London on 24th and 25th. 

Congress president Rahul Gandhi's outreach programme with overseas Indians has run opposition from the BJP government if AICC secretary Madhu Gaur Yaski is to be believed.

Yaski has told WION that the BJP government through Indian embassies has been trying to sabotage the visit of Congress president Rahul Gandhi.

Rahul Gandhi is expected to visit Hamburg on August 22nd, Berlin on 23rd and London on 24th and 25th. 

When WION spoke to Madhu Gaur Yaski, he said,"There was tremendous pressure from the Indian embassy on overseas Indians to not organise a function for Rahul Gandhi as he was supposed to meet the British Parliamentarians. Despite that, we will be organising the function in a bigger hall." 

"We thwarted their attempts. MPs of Indian origin will also come to listen to Rahul Gandhi," Yaski added.

Yaski also claimed that in Bahrain the India embassy actually wrote a letter to the establishment that they cannot host the Indian delegation without consulting the MEA. 

"Earlier we would represent India. The present government has made it into a BJP vs Congress affair,"  Yaski asserted.  The AICC secretary said that similar resistance was met in Singapore too. 

Yaski is set to accompany Rahul Gandhi to the London trip. Rahul Gandhi would also be accompanied by former union minister Milind Deora.  

When WION spoke to Milind Deora, he said that overseas Indians outreach programme is important to the Congress and it is for this reason Rahul Gandhi has been taking out time to meet them at regular intervals.

Recently, Milind Deora and Sachin Pilot had gone to Australia and had met with a host of Indians of Rajasthani origin who showed great interest in participating in the upcoming assembly elections in the state.

The overseas Indians were a source of strength for the Congress at one point of time but the RSS has far outpaced the Congress in this regard. One of the most important features of Prime Minister Narendra Modi outreach programme has been his diaspora meetings in which he has been battering the Congress. 

Today the grand old party understands what it has lost to the BJP. Indians living abroad have a great impact on Indian politics. With the proxy voting mechanism in place, Congress will be at a tremendous disadvantage during the Lok Sabha polls in 2019. 

Overseas Indians are not only a source of funds but also help the Indian government network abroad. With the world becoming one village, the Congress is trying to make up for lost time. 

When WION spoke to Milind Deora he acknowledged the contribution of the people of Indian origin and overseas Indians to the India success story. Milind Deora, Sam Pitroda along with Yaski are the men assigned to retrieve lost ground for the Congress. 

Sam Pitroda who operates from Chicago was a close friend of former PM Rajiv Gandhi and played a key role in the telecommunications revolution in India.

author

Kartikeya Sharma

Kartikeya Sharma is Political Editor at WION. When he is not working, you will find him travelling, reading or cooking.