Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], November 14 (ANI): Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Saturday attended and addressed the valedictory session of the Bharat Summit 2026 in Hyderabad alongside Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, stating that 'fascists jump out of the woodwork when systems collapse.' His address at the HICC Novotel venue came amid protests outside by Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) workers and sharp criticism of the summit by BJP leaders.

Addressing the Bharat Summit 2026 in Hyderabad, Gandhi hit out at what he termed 'fascists' in business, academia, and politics, asserting that they tend to scream and refuse to listen while the humble majority remains quieter.

'You find people at the head of businesses; you find them in academics, they know it all, and in politics we call them fascists. Fascists tend to scream. They shout, they scream, they don't listen. The majority listens, pays attention, is humble, so the fascists tend to have a louder voice,' Gandhi said during his address.

'And historically, the fascists jump out of the woodwork when systems collapse... And for the last decade, the fascists have been running, romping, jumping, shouting, screaming,' the Congress MP added.

Earlier, LoP Gandhi on Saturday said the Telangana government had fulfilled its promise to gig workers by providing them social security benefits, including accident and health insurance, pension and access to their work-related data.

Gandhi also launched the Telangana Gig Workers' Social Security and Welfare Scheme.

In a post on X, he said he had held a detailed meeting with Telangana's gig workers in 2023, during which they shared their hardships, needs and demands. He said the assurance given to them at the time was that their demands would be addressed and they would receive protection.

'I had a long meeting with Telangana's gig workers in 2023. We talked in detail. They shared their hardships, needs and demands. The promise was: your demands will be met, and you will definitely have protection,' he said.

Listing the benefits under the Telangana Gig Workers' Social Security and Welfare Scheme, he said workers would receive Rs 5 lakh accident insurance and Rs 10 lakh health insurance, while one per cent of their earnings would be contributed towards pension.

He added that the scheme also provided workers' rights over their data and earnings, along with Wi-Fi-enabled rest centres at various locations.

'Today, we fulfilled that promise: Rs 5 lakh accident insurance, Rs 10 lakh health insurance,1% of earnings for pension, rights over their data and earnings, Rest centres with WiFi at various locations,' he wrote.

Rahul Gandhi said these provisions had now become legal rights for gig workers in Telangana. (ANI)