Gandhi did not see Lok Sabha elections as virtually a presidential-style contest between him and Modi and said, "it is a clash between two ideas of India."
He contended that the Congress represented an idea which "respects the liberty and dignity of everyone of our countrymen by upholding the ideals of humanity and inclusion", whereas the BJP wanted an India "in which there is no place for the poor, no place for those with a different religion or ideology.
The Congress leader said that the BJP seeks to "suppress large numbers of India's ideas" and wanted "an India in which power is centralised in the hands of individuals. It is a clash between these two ideas of India."
The Gandhi-scion added, "The ideas that Mr Modi represents are dangerous for India."
To a question that people appeared to be disappointed with the lacklustre performance of the UPA government and favoured a strong leader like Modi, he said, "yes, I believe that India needs a 'strong' leader but we must have a deeper understanding of what 'strength' means.
"Strength to me, is not brute force or the ability to bulldoze your way through decision making in an autocratic manner....I do believe that an autocratic mindset that believes in dispensing with whatever is inconvenient to its notions is dangerous because such people tend to disregard what is right for what is expedient.
Updated on: March 17, 2014 7:37 IST
