Asserting that his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra is an ideological yatra, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said the journey being undertaken is aimed at placing certain ideas on the table before the people and present an alternative vision to the divisive one of the BJP. Addressing a press conference here on the third day of the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, Gandhi also launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi while talking about the Nagaland peace issue and alleged that the PM “promises things without thinking them through”.
“Why the Prime Minister has not acted, I am frankly the wrong person to ask that question to, because I don’t know his mind, I don’t know his approach, but, I do get the sense that the Prime Minister promises things without thinking them through,” Gandhi said. “He made many promises, you know, to the youth of India, he made promises about education and employment and I think, he just made them and I get the sense that people are disturbed that the Prime Minister’s credibility is on the line and nothing has happened for nine years. We, of course, are committed to a solution to the problem over there (Nagaland),” he said.
Gandhi alleged that there was a “huge amount” of injustice taking place in the country. The former Congress chief also said his previous Bharat Jodo Yatra had laid the foundation of an alternative vision which stated that “we do not want an India of hatred, a divided, broken India”.
“We want a harmonious India of brotherhood,” he asserted. The Bharat Jodo Yatra was a resounding success, everybody, even the BJP people say it now, he added.
“The model of the BJP – which is a model of hate-filled violence – is also a model of injustice, in which two-three big industrialists get all the wealth of the country,” Gandhi alleged. He also raised the issue of tribals, OBCs, and Dalits not having participation in governance.
“I gave the example of 90 officers and it was accepted in the entire country that the Indian government is not run by OBCs, Dalits and tribals. So these issues will be raised,” he said. Gandhi said the main objective of the Yatra is to highlight how injustice is happening in the country.
“There is a link between this injustice and hatred and violence. Hatred due to injustice is increasing, violence is increasing and the aim of BJP and RSS is actually to hand over all the benefits and wealth of India to selected people,” Gandhi said. “So, during the Nyay Yatra, we will present this to the public in some detail, state-wise,” he added.
Asked about the Congress’ assertion that the yatra is not an electoral yatra but an ideological one and how the party is placed to take on the BJP, Gandhi said, “I see the INDIA bloc placed very well in taking on the BJP in 2024.” The yatra is an ideological yatra and is designed to place certain issues on the table including the “huge amount of injustice taking place in this country”, he said. There is an election campaign and the Congress will fight that election campaign, he said, adding that he will also participate in it along with other senior leaders.
The yatra is to place certain ideas on the table firmly and these are ideological ideas, he said. “It is an alternative vision to what the BJP says, the divisive vision of the BJP,” Gandhi said.
The aim of this yatra is to put the question of justice before the public- social, economic and political justice, he said. Talking about the earlier ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ from Kanyakumari to Kashmir, Gandhi said it helped bring the people of India together and it transformed the political narrative.
“We have decided to do a similar Yatra from East to West. We decided to start in Manipur because of the tragedy that has taken place there, the loss of life, loss of property, violence. And of course, the fact that the Prime Minister has not even cared to visit the state which I think, is a sad and shameful affair,” he said. Gandhi said he would have liked it to be a ‘Padyatra but due to time constraints they were undertaking a hybrid Yatra, in bus and on foot.
“It will be our attempt to walk as much as possible. But the idea behind the ‘Nyay Yatra’ is to fight for justice,” he said. At the presser, Gandhi was accompanied by AICC general secretary in-charge communications, Jairam Ramesh and general secretary in-charge organisation, KC Venugopal.
The yatra will pass through 100 Lok Sabha constituencies in 15 states, traversing 6,713 km, mostly in buses but also on foot, and culminate in Mumbai on March 20 or 21.
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