Rahul, Priyanka march from Mani Bhavan to August Kranti Maidan

On Sunday morning, the Congress leader met Tushar Gandhi, the great-grandson of MK Gandhi, and visited the Mani Bhavan where the Mahatma used to live during his visits to Mumbai. He spoke with the people there and saw the pictures of Gandhiji and other leaders before participating in the ‘Nyay Sankalp Padyatra’ to August Kranti Maidan, where Gandhiji started the ‘Quit India Movement’ on August 8, 1942

Mumbai: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday participated in a ‘Nyay Sankalp Padyatra’ between Mani Bhavan and August Kranti Maidan, two sites in the city connected with the freedom struggle, before mounting a scathing attack on the BJP during the INDIA bloc’s public meeting at Shivaji Park. He alleged that though the BJP makes a lot of noise about changing the Constitution, it does not have the guts to do so as it lacks people’s support.

Mumbai, India – Mar 17, 2024: Congress Activists participate with Leader Rahul Gandhi along with Priyanka Gandhi during his road show of Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra from Mani Bhavan to August Kranti Maidan, in Mumbai, India, on Sunday, Mar 17, 2024. (Photo by Bhushan Koyande/HT Photo)

On Sunday morning, the Congress leader met Tushar Gandhi, the great-grandson of MK Gandhi, and visited the Mani Bhavan where the Mahatma used to live during his visits to Mumbai. He spoke with the people there and saw the pictures of Gandhiji and other leaders before participating in the ‘Nyay Sankalp Padyatra’ to August Kranti Maidan, where Gandhiji started the ‘Quit India Movement’ on August 8, 1942. Senior Congress leader and Gandhi’s sister Priyanka Gandhi-Vadra, Tushar Gandhi, social activist Yogendra Yadav, actor Swara Bhasker and others participated in the march.

Addressing a sizeable crowd at Shivaji Park later in the evening, Gandhi said, “The fight is not between the BJP and the Congress but between two souls. BJP represents the soul which says the country should be run by a system where those at the top give orders and others follow, while the Congress represents the soul which believes in the decentralisation of power and in hearing people’s voices.”

The BJP lacks the courage to change the Constitution as truth and people’s support are with the opposition, he added. Gandhi’s remark was a response to BJP MP Anantkumar Hegde’s recent comment that the party needed a two-third majority in both houses of Parliament to amend the Constitution and “set right the distortions and unnecessary additions made to it by the Congress”.

“The BJP can spread hatred in the country not because people like to hate but because people are suffering injustice in daily life, which provides easy ground to spread hatred,” he said, adding that from farmers and small businessmen to the common man, everyone was coping with injustice.

Gandhi also slammed the BJP leadership for running an autocratic regime. “Modi and the RSS have a vision that knowledge lies with only one person and that farmers, labourers and the unemployed youth have no knowledge. But the reality is different and even poor, common men and women have skills and knowledge. We just need to help them,” he said.