On Day 3 of the Bharat Jodo Yatra, Rahul Gandhi met farmer leaders, sanitation workers, tribal activists, and panchayat leaders.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Day 3 of the Bharat Jodo Yatra. (Supplied)
On Day 3 of the Congress’ Bharat Jodo Yatra, senior leader Rahul Gandhi and others walking with him covered a distance of 17 km in the Kanniyakumari district.
With this, the padayatra — aimed to “save the idea of India” and to “reconnect with the masses” — completed 38 out of its proposed 3,570 km.
Terming it an “honour” for him to walk in the land of late former Tamil Nadu chief minister K Kamaraj, an icon of the Congress, Rahul Gandhi told reporters that one of the objectives of the march was also to undo the damages done by the BJP and the RSS in the country.
“India is a conversation between its people. That conversation has broken down. And since the conversation has broken down, India has broken down. That conversation needs to restart,” he said, suggesting that the Congress’ padayatra would enable the conversation on the ground.
In an attempt to emphasise the need for the padayatra, the Gandhi scion also narrated a conversation he had with a school student about India. Quoting the child, Gandhi said that “Bharat” was the people of India living in harmony.
“So, the question is: Are the people of India living in harmony? The answer, as far as I can see, is no. The country is divided along religious lines. It is divided along state lines. People do not have jobs. Two-three big businesses are favoured… There is massive inflation… All this is not harmonious,” he remarked.
Asked why several leaders deserted the Congress, Rahul said for some people “it was easier to make peace with the BJP than to fight it”, which according to him was not his character.
He also accused the BJP of capturing the institutions of the country to exert pressure on certain individuals, thereby making it an unequal fight between the government and the opposition.
“The BJP has better means of putting pressure on them than I do… It is not a fight between two political parties now. It is a fight between the structure of the Indian state and the Opposition,” he said.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Day 3 of the Bharat Jodo Yatra. (Supplied)
With the organisational elections to choose a new Congress president around the corner, there is a lot of speculation as to whether Rahul would be ready to don the mantle again, even though he has reportedly expressed his reluctance to do so.
Several leaders within the Congress say the broad consensus in the party is for Rahul Gandhi to become the next president.
Asked about it, Rahul stated that he had decided “very clearly” as to what he wanted to do, and told reporters they could ask him this question after the party elections were over. “By then, it will be clear if I’m standing for elections or not,” he said.
Asked why he was leading the yatra when he was not ready to become the Congress chief, Rahul said he was not leading the yatra, but was part of it as a member of the Congress, and as someone who believed in the ideology of the organisation.
On Day 3 of the Bharat Jodo Yatra, Rahul Gandhi met farmer leaders, sanitation workers, tribal activists, and panchayat leaders.
Applauding Rahul’s efforts to “unite the country”, one of the farmer leaders claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had failed to deliver on his promise of helping farmers.
During their interaction with him, they spoke about how the Central government wanted to help only big corporates at the expense of small-scale farmers. They also complained about not getting proper subsidies and their alleged inability to avail farm loans.
Interestingly, Rahul also interacted with members of the popular YouTube channel “Village Cooking Channel” — whom he met during the 2021 Assembly election campaign in Tamil Nadu.
The video of him cooking mushroom biryani with the team had gone viral at the time.
#BharatJodoYatra is to bring cultures together with all aspects of it. Be it the cuisine, the language, or the beliefs.
Shri @RahulGandhi reunited with the Village Cooking Channel and emphasized the value food holds for every culture. pic.twitter.com/AWkbvvne4A
— Congress (@INCIndia) September 9, 2022
While Rahul Gandhi was undertaking the padayatra, the BJP found fault with the t-shirt he was wearing on Friday.
Bharat, dekho! pic.twitter.com/UzBy6LL1pH
— BJP (@BJP4India) September 9, 2022
The official Twitter handle of the BJP posted a picture of Rahul wearing a white t-shirt. In the same post, the party added another picture that showed the cost of the Burberry t-shirt to be ₹41,257.
However, the Congress was quick to react. It brought up the controversial “NaMo” monogrammed suit worn by Modi, which reportedly cost ₹10 lakh. His branded glasses were also not spared.
अरे… घबरा गए क्या? भारत जोड़ो यात्रा में उमड़े जनसैलाब को देखकर।
मुद्दे की बात करो… बेरोजगारी और महंगाई पर बोलो।
बाकी कपड़ों पर चर्चा करनी है तो मोदी जी के 10 लाख के सूट और 1.5 लाख के चश्मे तक बात जाएगी।
बताओ करनी है? @BJP4India https://t.co/tha3pm9RYc
— Congress (@INCIndia) September 9, 2022
Jairam Ramesh, the Congress’ in-charge for communications, added that the tweet about Rahul’s t-shirt was a sign that the BJP was rattled by the good response the Bharat Jodo Yatra was getting on the ground.
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