Extremely nasty form of politics taking root in India: Rahul

Launching a scathing attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said "an extremely nasty form of politics" is taking root in India and his party will "defeat the BJP in the next election".

While addressing students at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, the National University of Singapore, Gandhi said, "We have been fighting the BJP and the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) since the beginning. An extremely nasty form of politics is currently taking root in India. We will fight this nasty form of politics and we will defeat the BJP in the next election."

He alleged the People's Democratic Party (PDP) and the BJP alliance in Jammu and Kashmir for taking the bad political decision of policymaking.

"Our Kashmir policy under Dr. Manmohan Singh was about building bridges with people. When UPA came to power in 2004, we were handed a J-K that was burning. We made a plan and worked on it for nine years. In 2014 when I went to J-K, I felt like crying. I saw what a bad political decision can to do years and years of policy-making," he said.

Rahul also blamed the ruling BJP for being "less concerned about peace and tranquility".

"We see society as a system that has to be kept in balance. The BJP, on the other hand, is less concerned about peace and tranquility," he said.

Talking about India's relationship with neighbouring country China, the Congress President said, "India has to have a peaceful and cooperative relationship with China."

"I don't buy the idea that India can't challenge and compete with China in manufacturing," he added.

Rahul is on a three-day visit to Singapore and Malaysia where he will meet the Indian community, business leaders and members of the Indian Overseas Congress.