BJP will not strengthen, but only weaken the country: Rahul

Thiruvananthapuram: In a hard-hitting speech targeting the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress President-elect Rahul Gandhi on Thursday warned the people of India to stand up against the forces who are not out to strengthen the country but weaken it.

"We (Congress) don't spread hatred, we don't divide the country, we do not destroy institutions in the country, instead we respect institutions and work within the framework. The BJP will not strengthen, but only weaken the country by dividing it. Every person who loves India should stand up together and fight this evil," he said in his valedictory address at the conclusion of the state-wide yatra led by Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala.

Gandhi also said that being in Kerala where the CPI-M-led Left Democratic Front government is in power, he wanted to ask the Left party if they wanted to fight the fascist forces.

"Do they (CPI-M) accept that the big challenge is from the fascist forces? It's very important to make their position clear to fight this evil at the national level," he said.

Gandhi arrived here on Thursday morning to visit coastal villages in the capital district, before flying down to Kanyakumari in neighbouring Tamil Nadu to share the grief of the grieving fishermen families who lost their near and dear ones when cyclone Ockhi struck the southern districts of Kerala and Tamil Nadu on November 30.