Rahul says '19 election to be between BJP, Opposition alliance

Congress president Rahul Gandhi said today the next general election is going to be fought between the BJP and the Opposition alliance as for the first time there has been a "systematic attack" on Indian institutions.

In an interaction with the National Indian Students and Alumni Union (UK) at the London School of Economics, Gandhi said that the first priority of the Congress is to defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and stop the institutions in India from being encroached upon.

"Next election is pretty straightforward. On one side there is BJP and on the other side, there is every opposition party. The reason is, for the first time, Indian institutions are under attack," he said.

"What we're defending is the onslaught on the Indian Constitution. I and the entire opposition have agreed, that our first priority is to stop the poison being spread," Gandhi said.

"The important thing is I operate in a democracy. I have been attacked. I have learned and you can see what I bring to the table," he said.

The Congress president said that "the essence of our ideology is non-violence. As a victim of violence, I condemn any form of violence on anyone. I'm crystal clear about that.

"I have been through a certain degree of violence. Those experiences have made me compassionate to people".

Almost everybody in the Opposition are of the view that there is a a "systematic attack" on Indian institutions, Gandhi said.

Standing up for the oppressed is the idea of the Congress and every Indian has this embedded in them. But, Congress is unable to connect to people with this idea, he said.

Gandhi said that from the Indian perspective, development has taken place through the sacrifice of all Indians. Their benefit, too, must go to all Indians. No community should feel like they do not have a voice.

"There is a full blown job crisis in India and the Indian government is in denial. Where China creates 50,000 jobs a day, only 450 jobs are created in a day. This is a catastrophe," Gandhi said.