Rahul Gandhi says ‘Kerala Story-2’ not being watched is ‘good news’
The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha was interacting with students of Marian College in Kuttikkanam.
Answering a student’s question about the use of films as propaganda tools, Gandhi shared his views on ‘Kerala Story-2 Goes Beyond’.
“The good news is that ‘Kerala Story’ seems empty and no one is watching. It also shows that the majority are people who do not understand what Kerala is, its traditions and culture,” he said.
According to Rahul, films, television and media are increasingly “weaponised”.
“It is used for exactly this purpose; to malign people, to eliminate them and to create divisions in society so that some people benefit and others are harmed. This is exactly what India has become now,” he said.
He said such developments were extremely damaging for the country, and large amounts of money were being spent on that purpose. Speaking about his personal interests, he said he reads quite a lot on subjects he wants to learn about, but does not watch many movies.
“As hobbies, I like to play chess and do martial arts. I swim, run and exercise to stay in shape,” he said.
Rahul said that despite representing Kerala in Parliament for five years, he could not understand the state in depth but learned a lot from the people of Wayanad.
“I was very surprised when I first came there. There was a huge landslide that killed many people, but I was impressed by people’s reactions. Even after such a tragedy, they were helping others. It didn’t matter what community or financial background a person belonged to,” he said.
Saying that Kerala has very old and valuable traditions, he advised students to stick to the culture of the state and also learn from other places.
Gandhi also claimed that the country’s education system was under the pressure of a particular ideology.
“If you look at vice-chancellors in universities, a large number of them are appointed just because they are part of the RSS or a particular ideology. There is ideological pressure on the education system. Education should not be limited to any one way of thinking, especially the divisive view of the RSS.” he said.
On artificial intelligence, Rahul said India is yet to reach the level of the US or China.
“At an AI summit, there was a Chinese robot masquerading as an Indian robot,” he said.
He said that if India wants to be strong in artificial intelligence, it needs to control its own data.
He claimed that while the US has access to global data, China controls its own data, strengthening its position in artificial intelligence.
“The last deal with the US handed over all our data to America. US companies can keep Indian data wherever they want and it is not taxed. That is why we have damaged our AI potential in the last few weeks,” he claimed.
Regarding the ongoing conflict in West Asia, Gandhi said that on the surface it looks like a war waged by the US and Israel against Iran, but the larger geopolitical players are the US, China and Russia.
“The United States is trying to ensure that it remains the dominant superpower as China moves closer to it. That’s the broader picture,” he said.
He added that the Middle East is the center of global energy production and conflicts there have wider consequences.
“Even India is directly paying the price of war because of our dependence on energy from the Middle East,” he said.
Rahul stated that India’s strength stems from its diversity and added that the country can become a global power by controlling its data and increasing its production capacity.
“The path we are on now is one where people are fighting each other; religion against religion, language against language, caste against caste. We are not producing enough and we are turning over our greatest asset, data, to the United States,” he said.
When asked what politics is as a profession, Gandhi said that being a politician is a difficult job if done sincerely.
“If you want to do it seriously and have a value system, it’s very difficult. If you’re doing it for the right reason, you have to be prepared to suffer a lot. If you’re doing it for the wrong reason, it’s easy,” he said.
He, along with Congress MPs KC Venugopal and Dean Kuriakose, attempted a few steps of Kalaripayattu, the traditional martial art of Kerala, with a college student.
He said martial arts are often seen as a form of self-defense, but also a way to understand oneself.
“It’s about discovering yourself and understanding how you react to different situations. It’s very powerful. Kalari is said to be the mother of all martial arts. Kalari requires flexibility and I’m not that flexible,” he said.
