Oppn parties against PM Modi, RSS should come together: Rahul

New Delhi: Opposition parties against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the RSS should come together and discussions are ongoing on what should be its framework, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said on Friday after meeting RJD leader Sharad Yadav, whom he described as his "guru". Addressing the media at his house with the Congress leader by his side, Yadav said Gandhi should take over as the Congress president.

Asked if the Opposition must come together to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Gandhi said , "Opposition parties that are against the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Narendra Modi should come together. Discussions are ongoing on how they should come together, what should be the framework of it, and that has to be developed."

On whether Gandhi should become Congress president, Yadav said, "Why not? Rahul Gandhi works for the party 24X7 and I think he should become the president of the party. The Congress should make him president only then something big can happen."

When Gandhi was asked to comment on the issue, he parried the question, saying, "We will see about that."

Describing Yadav as his "guru", Gandhi said Yadav was unwell for a long time, and he was happy to see him "fighting fit" now. "He has taught me a lot about politics," Gandhi added. Yadav last month merged his Loktantrik Janata Dal (LJD) with Lalu Prasad Yadav's Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).

Gandhi said he agrees with him that the country is in a "very bad state" as "hatred" is being spread and the "country is being divided".

"All of us are facing this challenge. We have to bring the country together, we have to take the country on the path of brotherhood again," Gandhi said.

"People think that economy is different from the condition of the society. In a country which does not have harmony, hatred will increase, inflation will rise, economy will not flourish and employment will not be generated," he said.

If we have to strengthen the country then the most important thing is peace and harmony, he added. The former Congress president alleged that "the BJP people think that by spreading hatred, scaring people and killing them, India's economy can be strengthened". "They are under an illusion". Gandhi cautioned that India's economic situation and the state of unemployment is "going to worsen".