Gandhi’s visit included rousing interactions with students and faculty at the University of Texas and an address to the Indian diaspora community where he was greeted with enthusiasm and rounds of applause.
Gandhi acknowledged this calling it a “fantastic start,” to his US visit. He described his engagement with students and faculty as “dynamic and engaging,” noting discussions on “politics, production, skill-respect in India, and the vital role of youth and women in shaping the future of our nations.” He also emphasized the importance of the diaspora, stating, “The Indian Diaspora serves as a vital bridge between our countries, and their commitment to these values strengthens the bond between our two great unions.”
During his address to the diaspora, Gandhi highlighted key values he believes are essential to Indian politics: “love, respect, and humility.” He stressed the importance of embracing India’s diversity while upholding the principles of the Constitution. Gandhi noted, “You are people who have come from India and the values that I have been describing—values of the Constitution, values of respect, values of humility. You carry them inside your heart, you have them in your blood.” He added, “You did not come with arrogance, you came with humility; you did not come with hatred, you came with love and affection.”
Gandhi’s visit also included a critique of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He talked about how the people in India were not scared of the BJP after the election results were announced and called it a huge achievement for the people of India who realized democracy. Gandhi said, “The other thing that happened was very beautiful, that I was amazed that it happened so quickly was that fear of the BJP vanished, disappeared, gone and we saw that immediately. Within minutes of the election result, nobody in India feared the BJP or the Prime Minister of India. So, these are huge achievements not of Rahul Gandhi or the Congress party. We are peripheral. These are huge achievements of the people of India who realized democracy, of the people of India who realized that we are not going to accept an attack on our constitution. We are not going to accept an attack on our religion. We’re not going to accept an attack on our states.”
He argued that the RSS promotes the idea that “India is one idea,” while the Congress party views India as “a multiplicity of ideas.” Gandhi stated, “We believe that everybody should be allowed to participate… regardless of their caste, language, religion, tradition, history.” He criticized the BJP for attacking the Constitution, saying, “What people understood in the election clearly… is that the BJP is attacking our tradition, attacking our language, attacking our states, attacking our histories, and most importantly… attacking the Constitution of India.”
Reflecting on his role as the opposition leader, Gandhi expressed his desire to instill values of love, respect, and humility in Indian politics. He remarked, “I believe my role is injecting the values of love, respect, and humility in Indian politics. I think what is missing in our political system and across parties is love, respect, and humility.” He further emphasized that his success would be measured by his ability to promote these values, stating, “If you were to ask me, five years from now, do you consider yourself successful? I would look at these three things: Have I helped bring the idea of love into the forefront of Indian politics? Have I helped make politicians and others… humbler? Have I increased the respect that people have with each other?”