New Delhi: Former US government official Raymond Vickery has weighed in on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s recent remarks in Colombia, where Gandhi warned that India’s democracy is under systematic attack. Vickery said that Indian leaders, irrespective of political affiliations, must prioritise the country’s values and interests.
Vickery noted that the bipartisan tradition of promoting shared national values has weakened in both the United States and India.
“I would rather [hope] Indian leaders on both sides of the political divide speak out in favour of Indian values and in the interests of India. In the US, Republicans and Democrats once presented shared values as leaders of the free world, but that consensus has broken down—and I fear the same is happening in India,” he said.
He advised Indian political leaders to adopt a broader outlook on national priorities. “It would be very helpful if you can have that broader outlook expressed across the board. Whether you’re in opposition or government, that should be the orientation,” Vickery added.
Earlier this week in Colombia, Rahul Gandhi addressed students at EIA University in Envigado, launching a sharp critique of the Narendra Modi government. He argued that India’s greatest threat today is an attack on its democratic foundations.
Highlighting India’s diversity of religions, languages, and traditions, Gandhi said democracy is the only framework capable of accommodating such pluralism. By contrast, he described China as a centralised and uniform system.
“India is a conversation between all its people,” he said, stressing that attempts to impose authoritarianism would ultimately fail.
