Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday kick-started the Bharat Jodo Yatra, the longest ever people movement, to revive the Congress party in the run up to the 2024 general elections.
Speaking at a public rally during the launch of the yatra in Tamil Nadu's Kanyakumari, Rahul took a dig at the BJP government in the Centre and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying “Every institution under the BJP government is under attack. They think they can frighten the opposition using ED, CBI and Income Tax. But they don’t understand the the Indians don’t get scared. It doesn’t matter how many hours of interrogation they do, not a single opposition leader is scared of the BJP.”
Stating that India is facing the highest level of unemployment, the Congress leader said the country is heading to a disaster and is facing its worst economic crisis. He compared the Modi government to the British rule and said: "Back then, it was called East India Company, now the country is in the hands of select few companies."
After paying floral tributes to his father Rajiv Gandhi at his memorial in Sri Perumbudur on the outskirts of Chennai, Rahul Gandhi flew to Kanyakumari to launch the Bharat Jodo Yatra. At Sriperumbudur, Rahul looked anguished and said he wants to unite the country. “I lost my father to politics of hate and division. I will not lose my beloved country to it. Love will conquer hate. Hope will defeat fear. Together, we will overcome.”
Rahul, along with party workers, will walk 56 km from Kanyakumari to Kaliyakavilai on Thursday as the first leg of the yatra. He will be joined by 120 yatris and they will walk for 150 days covering 3,570 km across 12 states. The yatra launched at Gandhi Mandapam in Kanyakumari was earlier flagged off by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK president M.K. Stalin.
Stalin accompanied Rahul Gandhi to the Gandhi Mandapam by the sea shore at Kanyakumari and greeted him with a shawl and hugged him, thus sending a strong message to both the Congress and the DMK. The message for the Congress was that the DMK will always be its trusted ally and to the party cadres and others, Stalin’s message was that the DMK will not align with the BJP.