Rahul Gandhi brings Mahabharata's Shakuni and ‘chakravyuh’ to attack Modi government

Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, on Monday (July 29) took references from the ancient text Mahabharata to deliver a heavy-handed political attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government. While discussing the Union Budget 2024, the Congress leader cited Mahabharata's 'chakravyuha' — a military formation that resembles a labyrinth of defensive walls and is depicted in the Hindu epic Mahabharata  — to state that the Lotus (the symbol of PM Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party) also resembles the ancient military formation. 

The Member of Parliament from Rae Bareli drew Chakravyuha's lotus analogy to target the government, saying it has created an "atmosphere of fear" in the country.

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"When I researched about the chakravyuha, I got to know that it is also known as 'padmavyuha' or 'lotus'-vyuha (lotus formation).

"In 21st century, India is trapped in a new chakravyuha represented by lotus symbol that PM Modi wears on his chest," Rahul said in Lok Sabha.

Citing Mahabharata's chakravyuha that killed young warrior Abhimanyu on the battlefield, Rahul explained that there were six people at the centre of the trap -- Dronacharya, Karna, Kripacharya, Kritavarma, Ashwathama, and Shakuni.

"Similarly, there are six people at the centre of chakravuya today -- PM Modi, Amit Shah, Mohan Bhagwat, Ajit Doval, Ambani and Adani."

Rahul Gandhi's comment led to an uproar by the MPs of ruling National Democratic Alliance as well as an intervention from Speaker Om Birla. To which Rahul said, "If you want, I will remove the names of NSA Doval, Ambani and Adani from this list."

"In BJP, only one leader is allowed to dream to be the Prime Minister. If today, defence minister wants to be the PM, there's a big problem, big fear."

"Why are my friends in BJP are terrified, the ministers are terrified, the farmers are terrified, the workers, youngsters, why are they all terrified?" asked Rahul.

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In response to his question, Rahul said when he thought about the reason behind the state of affairs in the country, he came up with the chakravyuha analogy.

"The 'chakravyuha that has captured India has three forces behind it. 1) The idea of monopoly capital - that 2 people should be allowed to own the entire Indian wealth. So, one element of the chakravyuha is coming from the concentration of financial power. 2) The institutions, the agencies, CBI, ED, IT of this nation, and 3) Political executive. These three together, are at the heart of chakravyuha and they have devastated this country," Rahul said.

"They (NDA government) think that today's people are Abhimanyu, but today's people are Arjuna. They will break this chakravyuha," he said.

(With inputs from agencies)