On popular demand, Rahul Gandhi’s latest Lok Sabha speech... Was this his best ever?
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00:00My great grandfather spent 15 years in jail.
00:04My grandmother was shot 32 times and my father was blown into bits.
00:09So I understand a little bit about what this country is.
00:13If you read the constitution of India, you will find, and many of my colleagues who have
00:42not read it should look at it.
00:45You will find that India is described as a union of states.
00:55India is not described as a nation.
00:59It is described as a union of states.
01:03There are two visions of this country.
01:06One vision that it is a union of states, meaning it is a negotiation, meaning it is a conversation,
01:16meaning I go to my brother in Tamil Nadu and I say, what do you want?
01:21And he says, this is what I want.
01:24And then he asked me, what do you want?
01:26And I said, this is what I want.
01:28It is a partnership.
01:31It is not a kingdom.
01:33Remember that you will never, you will never ever in your entire life rule over the people
01:41of Tamil Nadu.
01:42It cannot be done.
01:43You will never ever in your life rule over these other people, no matter what fantasies
01:49you might have, you will never ever rule over the people of the states of India.
02:00It has never been done in 3000 years, never, ever the only way India has been ruled.
02:09And you can look at any empire you want.
02:12You can look at Ashoka the Great.
02:15You can look at the Mauryas.
02:16You can look at the Guptas.
02:18You can look at anyone you want.
02:20It has always been ruled by conversation and negotiation.
02:27Now what is the problem?
02:30The problem is you people are confused.
02:33The problem is you people think that these languages, these cultures, these histories,
02:44you think that you, you think that you can suppress them.
02:52You have no idea of history, you have no idea what you are dealing with.
02:59Because the people of Tamil Nadu have inside their heart, the idea of Tamil Nadu, the idea
03:09of the Tamil language, and then also the idea of India.
03:17Do not be confused.
03:19The people of Kerala have the idea of, I am not, I am telling you the truth.
03:29The people of Kerala, the people of Kerala have a culture.
03:36I am now a member of Parliament of Kerala.
03:38I understand it slightly better.
03:41They have a culture, they have a dignity, they have a history.
03:46The people like, like the gentleman said, the people of Rajasthan have a culture, have
03:52a history, have a tradition, have a language.
03:57They have a way of life.
04:00This is like a bouquet of flowers.
04:04This is our strength.
04:07I learn from the people of Tamil Nadu.
04:09I learn from the people of Rajasthan.
04:12I learn even from you.
04:14Every day I learn from you.
04:15I do.
04:16It's not funny.
04:17It's not funny.
04:19I learn from you.
04:21Right?
04:23It's not funny.
04:24Anyway, there is another vision, a vision that India can be ruled by a stick from the
04:32centre.
04:34You people have no idea of history because every time it has been attempted, that stick
04:41has been broken and smashed.
04:46Now, now what is happening as a result of your flawed vision of the country?
04:54Two India's are of course being created.
04:56So there are, there are two visions.
05:00One is a union of states, union of languages, union of cultures, a bouquet of beautiful
05:07flowers that can challenge any power in the world.
05:12No power in the world has ever been able to challenge this bouquet of flowers.
05:18Now there is another vision, a centralizing vision, the vision of a king, the idea of
05:26a king, which the, which the Congress removed in 1947.
05:35We smashed that idea of a king.
05:38Now that idea of a king has come back, that there is a king, a Shaheen Shah, a ruler of
05:46rulers, a master of masters.
05:49My fear is that this attack that you're carrying out on the institutional framework of this
05:57country is going to get a response from the union of states.
06:04And you're fiddling.
06:06I understand this.
06:08You might not appreciate it, but my great grandfather spent 15 years in jail.
06:14My grandmother was shot 32 times and my father was blown into bits.
06:19So I understand a little bit about what this country is.
06:23My blood has been sacrificed, not by me, by my great grandfather, by my grandmother, by
06:29my father for this country.
06:30So I understand what it is.
06:31And you're fiddling with something very, very dangerous.
06:40And I am advising you, stop.