Rahul Gandhi in Norway one of several Indians battling against ‘assault’ on democracy

Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the Congress, has claimed that after Prime Minister Narendra Modi took office in 2014, ‘everything changed’ in terms of India’s democracy and that as a result, a sizable portion of the public is no longer permitted to speak.

A ‘severe assault’ on India’s democracy, he added, but the nation is fighting it. ‘When that defence stops, if ever, then I’ll say India is not a democracy anymore. However, there are still so many people who are fighting the attack on our democratic structure. The fight is not over and I think we will win the fight,’ he said in remarks made earlier this month at the University of Oslo in Norway, the audio of which was made public by the party on Thursday.

Gandhi also discussed the India-Bharat name dispute during his rambunctious conversation at the university. He claimed that if the prime minister changed the name of India to Bharat, the opposition party INDIA would follow suit and the PM would then need to change the name of the nation once more.

‘I don’t believe that any other political formation, by simply choosing their name, has succeeded in making the incumbent change the name of the country. That’s a world record,’ he said, evoking peals of laughter from the audience.

‘If and when he does change the name, we will also change our name. Then, he will have to change the name again,’ he said.

There have recently been rumors that the country’s name could change and India be deleted due to the government’s increased use of Bharat. As a result of the opposition alliance’s use of the name INDIA (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance), the opposition claimed, the government placed more of a focus on Bharat.

Gandhi claimed that everyone in the INDIA coalition had decided they would not stand by and allow the ‘murder of Indian democracy.’

‘Firstly, we will not let the RSS capture our institutions. Secondly, we believe the level of inequality generated in India — the monopoly of 2-3 business houses; the 200+ million people that have gone into poverty in the past 9 years — is not acceptable. Thirdly, we all agree that government must spend and involve itself more on healthcare and education,’ he said.