<p>Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi denounced Prime Minister Narendra Modi's stranglehold on Indian society on Thursday but expressed confidence that the opposition can beat the ruling party in 2024 elections.</p>.<p>Gandhi, who was speaking at the National Press Club in Washington, is a member of the Congress Party and was expelled from the Indian parliament after being convicted of defamation in March for remarks made during a 2019 election campaign.</p>.<p>"I think the Congress Party will do very well in the next election. I think it will surprise people," he said, before referring to Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). "Just do the math, a united opposition will defeat the BJP on its own."</p>.<p><strong>Also Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/national-politics/outcome-of-2024-elections-will-surprise-people-rahul-gandhi-1224080.html" target="_blank">Outcome of 2024 elections will 'surprise' people: Rahul Gandhi</a></strong></p>.<p><br />He accused the BJP leader of polarizing and dividing Indian society, and of orchestrating a "capture of the institutions" in his country.</p>.<p>Modi and his BJP party support Hindu hegemony in India, the world's most populous nation with 1.4 billion inhabitants, a diversity of faiths and a secular constitution.</p>.<p>But according to Gandhi, the ruling party fostered "a clampdown on the institutional framework that allowed India to talk, that allowed Indian people to negotiate."</p>.<p>Gandhi's US visit comes just a few weeks before President Modi's state visit on June 22, when he will be welcomed with great fanfare at the White House.</p>.<p>With his conviction for defamation, and the subsequent loss on appeal in April, Gandhi lost the legal right to participate further in politics.</p>.<p>Gandhi, the leading face of his opposition party, asserted that his "disqualification" was in fact "an advantage."</p>.<p>"It allows me to completely redefine myself. I think they have given me a gift, frankly. They don't realize it, but they have," he added, lamenting that "thousands and thousands of voices... are being frightened into submission."</p>.<p>Gandhi was convicted of defamation after declaring that "all thieves have Modi as their surname."</p>.<p>He was given a two-year jail by a tribunal but is currently free on bail.</p>.<p>The sentence renders Gandhi ineligible, preventing him from taking a seat in Parliament or running in the 2024 general election, which Modi's BJP party is widely expected to win.</p>.<p>Gandhi is the scion of a political dynasty, the son of Rajiv (and Sonia) Gandhi, grandson of Indira Gandhi and great-grandson of independence leader Jawaharlal Nehru, all former prime ministers.</p>.<p>His Congress Party is a political movement that once dominated Indian politics but whose weight has now been considerably reduced, while Modi's nationalist party has won over the country's Hindu majority.</p>
<p>Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi denounced Prime Minister Narendra Modi's stranglehold on Indian society on Thursday but expressed confidence that the opposition can beat the ruling party in 2024 elections.</p>.<p>Gandhi, who was speaking at the National Press Club in Washington, is a member of the Congress Party and was expelled from the Indian parliament after being convicted of defamation in March for remarks made during a 2019 election campaign.</p>.<p>"I think the Congress Party will do very well in the next election. I think it will surprise people," he said, before referring to Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). "Just do the math, a united opposition will defeat the BJP on its own."</p>.<p><strong>Also Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/national-politics/outcome-of-2024-elections-will-surprise-people-rahul-gandhi-1224080.html" target="_blank">Outcome of 2024 elections will 'surprise' people: Rahul Gandhi</a></strong></p>.<p><br />He accused the BJP leader of polarizing and dividing Indian society, and of orchestrating a "capture of the institutions" in his country.</p>.<p>Modi and his BJP party support Hindu hegemony in India, the world's most populous nation with 1.4 billion inhabitants, a diversity of faiths and a secular constitution.</p>.<p>But according to Gandhi, the ruling party fostered "a clampdown on the institutional framework that allowed India to talk, that allowed Indian people to negotiate."</p>.<p>Gandhi's US visit comes just a few weeks before President Modi's state visit on June 22, when he will be welcomed with great fanfare at the White House.</p>.<p>With his conviction for defamation, and the subsequent loss on appeal in April, Gandhi lost the legal right to participate further in politics.</p>.<p>Gandhi, the leading face of his opposition party, asserted that his "disqualification" was in fact "an advantage."</p>.<p>"It allows me to completely redefine myself. I think they have given me a gift, frankly. They don't realize it, but they have," he added, lamenting that "thousands and thousands of voices... are being frightened into submission."</p>.<p>Gandhi was convicted of defamation after declaring that "all thieves have Modi as their surname."</p>.<p>He was given a two-year jail by a tribunal but is currently free on bail.</p>.<p>The sentence renders Gandhi ineligible, preventing him from taking a seat in Parliament or running in the 2024 general election, which Modi's BJP party is widely expected to win.</p>.<p>Gandhi is the scion of a political dynasty, the son of Rajiv (and Sonia) Gandhi, grandson of Indira Gandhi and great-grandson of independence leader Jawaharlal Nehru, all former prime ministers.</p>.<p>His Congress Party is a political movement that once dominated Indian politics but whose weight has now been considerably reduced, while Modi's nationalist party has won over the country's Hindu majority.</p>