India can rival China, but politics of hate scuttling growth: Rahul Gandhi

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said that it's India, and not the US, that can compete with China on the economic front, but the politics of hate and division was not letting India grow.

Addressing his maiden election rally in Delhi, Rahul Gandhi said: "Global investors want to invest in India. But the present day India is about violence, hatred, rape, hooliganism, murder."

He said that the country's economic growth was being affected due to political volatility as investors are keeping away.

Gandhi targetted Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for not taking any measures to tackle unemployment.

"Prime Minister Modi had said he would provide two crore jobs. But what did he do for this? The same case is with Kejriwal... what he did to tackle unemployment? The youth have understood now that neither of them can generate employment," he said.

Lambasting the BJP and its parent organisation RSS over their ideology of Hindutva, he said: "Hinduism talks about taking everyone along. What kind of 'Hindu dharma' is this of PM Modi and the RSS?"

"Hatred is not in our history, our country is a country of love. They (BJP) talk of religion, they don't understand religion. No religion tells its followers to kill and oppress others. None of our religious texts preaches violence?" he said.

He also challenged the BJP to show any one of its leaders who has raised slogan of 'Hindustan zindabad' inside Pakistan, and added that one Congress leader had done it.

"The BJP leaders talk about patriotism. Show me just one BJP leader who raised 'Hindustan zindabad' slogan in Pakistan. Congress' Jangpura candidate (Tarvinder Singh Marwah) did that and he went to jail for it," said Gandhi.

Delhi will go to polls on February 8 and counting will take place on February 11.