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Rahul launches Bharat Jodo Yatra, says Tricolour under attack by BJP and RSS
Thiruvananthapuram/New Delhi: The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government is following the colonial policy of divide-and-rule and institutions, values and even the Tricolour are under attack, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said on Wednesday, as he kicked off a 3,700km-long foot march to revive the party’s flagging electoral fortunes amid internal turmoil
Thiruvananthapuram/New Delhi: The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government is following the colonial policy of divide-and-rule and institutions, values and even the Tricolour are under attack, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said on Wednesday, as he kicked off a 3,700km-long foot march to revive the party’s flagging electoral fortunes amid internal turmoil.
Gandhi was speaking in Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu, from where the yatra will cover 12 states and two Union territories over the next 150 days before ending in Kashmir.
“The RSS-BJP led government is following the old principle of British, divide and rule. Earlier East India Company was doing this and now a handful of businessmen are doing it,” he said adding unemployment, price rise and inflation ruined the economy.
“Today, India faces its worst-ever economic crisis. The highest level of unemployment that we have ever seen and the country is heading into a disaster,” he added.
Most of the 118 padyatris – those who will cover the entire stretch with Gandhi— are younger members of the party. The list does not include any leaders from the erstwhile group of 23 leaders, known as G-23, who wrote to party chief Sonia Gandhi demanding reforms in 2020. Some of them, such as Anand Sharma and Manish Tewari, were also conspicuous by their absence at the inaugural function. Sharma, however, tweeted to lend his solidarity and wishes to Gandhi and said he will join the yatra in its Himachal Pradesh leg.
Congress leaders said the party’s central leadership selected the 118 yatris, and their arrangements will be handled by the All India Congress Committee. But many more local leaders are expected to join the padyatra and the respective state units will make arrangements for them.
The yatra is the party’s latest attempt at reviving its grassroots connect after a dismal election season. The party has been stung by a series of high-profile exits in recent months and is staring at a tough campaign in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, before a raft of states next year and the 2024 general election. Additionally, a years-long stalemate over internal leadership continues with long-pending elections for party president slated for next month, but with no clarity on who will take over the top post from Sonia Gandhi.
At the same time, prominent leaders are leaving the party over disagreements with its functioning and over its apparent inertia in the face of a dominant Bharatiya Janata Party.
In his speech, Gandhi said every single institution was under attack and sought the help of people to keep the country united. He said the government was suing central agencies to intimidate Opposition leaders but they would not be scared. “We don’t get scared. The BJP is mistaken,” he said.
“We must not only salute the flag but also defend the ideas that flag embodies. Even the flag is under threat. Unity of the country is getting affected on the lines of religion, language and other problems,” he said, adding during his yatra he will listen to the wisdom of people.
The yatra was flagged off by Tamil Nadu chief minister M K Stalin who handed over the Tricolour to Gandhi. “Today, my brother Rahul Gandhi has begun a journey to retrieve India’s soul, to uphold the lofty ideals of our republic and to unite our country’s people with love,” he said.
Gandhi, 52, also attended a prayer meeting at Sriperumbudur near Chennai where his father, former PM Rajiv Gandhi, was assassinated in 1991. “I lost my father to the politics of hate and division. I will not lose my believed country to it too,” he said after paying floral tributes.
During the yatra, Gandhi will stay in a modified container with basic facilities and cover 23 kms on foot every day. He will spend 18 days in Kerala which also covers his constituency in north Kerala, Wayanad.
At the rally, he said the government systematically attacked farmers, the young, workers and small traders and added that the yatra was designed to listen to the common people and understand their views.
Party president Sonia Gandhi’s message was read out at the rally venue. “I am sure this yatra will herald the much-needed change and it will be a transformational movement in Indian politics,” she said in a statement.
Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot, who was present at the event, said all Congress workers and leaders want Gandhi at the helm. “We want him at the top and it will really strengthen the party,” he said. When asked about his possible candidature for the party president’s post he refused to answer. Former Union minister P Chidambaram, Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel, party general secretary K C Venugopal and others attended the event. Chidambaram called the yatra “a second freedom struggle”.
But many BJP leaders took a dig at the yatra. Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma termed it “comedy of the century”. “Bharat that we live in today is resilient, robust and united. The only time India was divided was in 1947 because Congress agreed for it. Rahul Gandhiji should go to Pakistan for Bharat Jodo Yatra if they want unification,” he tweeted.
Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai said that the yatra was a drama being enacted to elect Rahul Gandhi once again as the party chief. “Everyone knows that there is no democracy in the Congress. They want someone from the Gandhi family to be the head,” he said.
