Congress MP Rahul Gandhi said that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are spreading hatred in society by making each religion, caste or language turn against another so that they can distract the people.
“BJP-RSS are spreading hatred and violence in society by making one religion fight against another, one caste against another and one language against another, so that they can distract you. They aim to snatch your wealth and keep it with them,” the Congress MP said.
Rahul Gandhi resumed the second leg of his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Assam by re-entering the state from the Rajgarh-Hollongi (Assam-Arunachal Pradesh) border on Sunday, the eighth day of his journey.
Highlighting issues of unemployment and farmers not getting right prices for their crops, Rahul Gandhi said, “We met lakhs of people in ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’. The youth raised issues of unemployment and farmers told us about not getting right prices for their crops. Now to hear your voice once again, we have started the ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’.”
“The youths here spend lakhs of rupees to go to school and college, but then come to know that they cannot get employment in Assam. Farmers do not get the right price for their crops, small shopkeepers were ruined due to demonetization and GST. The entire government of the country is run for selected industrialists,” he added.
Hitting out at Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Rahul Gandhi alleged, “Who is the most corrupt Chief Minister of India? The people of Assam and the entire country know that the answer is Himanta Biswa Sarma.”
“Those who are threatening us should know that this is not the journey of Rahul Gandhi, it is the journey of the people of Assam. Rahul Gandhi and the people of Assam are not afraid of the Chief Minister, they can do whatever they want,” he added.
The Yatra re-entered Assam on Sunday after spending a night in Arunachal Pradesh. The first leg of the journey in Assam was from Thursday to Saturday afternoon, after which it crossed over to Arunachal Pradesh.
The Congress leader met with an all-party delegation over a cup of tea during the Yatra in Assam’s Rajgarh.
Rahul Gandhi paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi by offering flowers on his statue during the Yatra. He also paid tributes to the statues of freedom fighters Swahid Kanaklata and Mukund Kakati.
The police stopped the convoy of Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra for some time in Assam’s Biswanath district on Sunday. However, after a discussion between the police and party workers, the Yatra resumed.
Earlier on Saturday, Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh claimed that Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma is making all efforts to prevent the party’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra program in Guwahati.
“On January 23, as per our schedule, we will be staying at Guwahati. We are trying our best to carry on with our Yatra as planned. Assam Chief Minister is trying his best not to allow our event in Guwahati. Several obstacles are being posed in front of us…We have written two letters to the Chief Minister,” Jairam Ramesh said speaking at a press conference at Assam’s Lakhimpur on Saturday along with Assam Pradesh Congress Committee president Bhupen Kumar Borah.
On the party’s efforts to clear the way ahead of the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’s scheduled plan at Guwahati on Tuesday, Ramesh said, “Our Leader of Opposition Debabrata Saikia has gone to Guwahati for ongoing talks with the police and the Chief Minister’s office about our program on January 23…Rahul Gandhi will interact with youths, about unemployment and the education system in Guwahati and will address a press conference.” (ANI)