'Stop foreign trips, visit Indian villages': Amit Shah's advice to Rahul Gandhi on returning to power

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday launched a sharp attack on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, accusing him of defaming India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi at international forums. He advised the Leader of the Opposition to stop travelling abroad and visit Indian villages if he wanted to return to power.

Speaking at an event in Pune, Maharashtra, Shah also warned Congress workers that following Gandhi's current political approach could keep the party out of power for another 30 years.

"I want to give a piece of advice to Rahul Gandhi ji: you will not get power by defaming India on international platforms like this. If you want power, stop your foreign trips and start visiting the villages of India; then perhaps your turn might come someday," Shah said.

The Home Minister accused Gandhi of trying to undermine Modi's leadership and India's development record before an international audience.

"Right now, what you are doing is trying to defame Narendra Modi ji, whose leadership the entire world is praising, and India's development journey before the world," he said.

Shah then turned his criticism towards Congress workers.

"You certainly won't listen, so I want to tell the Congress workers that if you keep following him in this direction, your turn will not come for 30 years," he said.

Amit Shah targets Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Summit speech

Shah's remarks came a day after Gandhi addressed the Bharat Summit 2026 in Hyderabad, organised on November 13 and 14 with the backing of the Congress-led Telangana government.

The Home Minister alleged that Congress had invited left-wing ideologues from India and abroad and used the international gathering to criticise the country. "The Congress party is venting the frustration of losing for three consecutive terms in various ways," he said.

Shah referred to Gandhi as the "prince of the Congress" and accused him of expressing anti-India views during the summit.

"The Congress party organised the 'Bharat Summit 2026' in Hyderabad. They invited propagators of leftist ideology from across the country and abroad to India, and the prince of the Congress also went there," Shah said.

He alleged that Gandhi had used the event to attack Modi and India's image internationally.

At the summit on Saturday, Gandhi had criticised the Modi government over the state of democratic institutions and alleged electoral manipulation.

The Congress leader also expressed confidence that the Opposition would defeat Modi.

"We are going to defeat Mr Modi, we are going to get rid of Mr Modi," Gandhi said, describing the eventual defeat of the Prime Minister as "already a done deal".

'Congress committed scams worth Rs 12 lakh crore'

Shah also accused the Congress of corruption during its 10 years in power at the Centre between 2004 and 2014. He said the party's electoral defeats reflected public dissatisfaction with its previous record in government.

"Fighting elections, losing, and winning depend on the performance of a party's leaders. You were given a chance for 10 years, and you committed scams and corruption worth ₹12 lakh crore," Shah alleged. "The people of the country held you by the hand and threw you out of the government in Delhi, making Narendra Modi ji the Prime Minister."

The Home Minister contrasted the previous Congress-led government's record with Modi's tenure. "In 12 years, not even a single allegation of corruption worth even four annas has been levelled against Narendra Modi ji," Shah said.