Bharat Jodo Yatra in Delhi: Rahul Gandhi takes aim at BJP

Indian Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of spreading communal hatred and trying to divide people on the lines of religion, a remark the 52-year-old made at the Red Fort after he led the Bharat Jodo Yatra through key areas of the Indian capital.

The Gandhi family walked together in the yatra, with former party president Sonia Gandhi, her daughter Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, son-in-law Robert Vadra and grandchildren joining Rahul Gandhi in the march that began at Kanyakumari and is scheduled to culminate at Srinagar in January.

Rahul Gandhi alleged that the government was trying to divert the attention of the people from real issues and accused it of attempting to create a religious divide. He, however, said his yatra showed that on the ground, India stood united.

"When we started this yatra from Kanyakumari, we started with the aim of uniting people and ending hatred. I felt there was hatred spread everywhere but when I started walking, I realised the truth was something else," he said.

"TV channels are spreading hatred and doing 'Hindu-Muslim', 'Hindu-Muslim' all the time, 24 hours. But, this is not true... This country is one and everyone loves each other and embraces each other, there is no hatred," he told a big gathering at the Red Fort.

The Congress leader, whose march has so far covered about 2,800km since 7 September, blamed the ruling dispensation for diverting public attention "like a pickpocket" from key issues by creating religious divisions, and running a government for select industrialists.

After the yatra entered Delhi from a Badarpur border point on Saturday morning, it crossed Mathura Road, Ashram, India Gate, ITO and culminated outside the Red Fort. The stretch was dotted with party flags amid heavy security and traffic diversions at some places.

The yatra completed 100 days recently. It began from Kanyakumari, making its way across seven states to Rajasthan and then entering Haryana before coming to Delhi. The Congress announced the 3,500km Bharat Jodo Yatra in May 2022 during its three-day "chintan shivir" in Udaipur, held in the backdrop of a party mired in internal discord, losing crucial electoral ground.

"The truth has to be understood. The truth is that as they (media) are under control; similarly, the Prime Minister of India is also under control [of industrialists]," Gandhi said on Saturday.

"Airports, ports, storage depots for agriculture belong to them. The Red Fort is also theirs. All the public sector companies are theirs and Railways is also theirs. The Taj Mahal will also be lost. So, everything is theirs. This is the reality of the country. They have highways, cellphones, but the truth is ours," he added.

Emphasising that the narrative should focus on jobs, economy and farmers, Gandhi said: "Today, degree-holder youth are selling 'pakoras'. I have walked 2,800km so far. Throughout my journey, I didn't see any hatred. I saw India is united. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP spent thousands of crores to destroy my image, but I showed truth to the country in just a month."

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge was also present at the event.

Kharge, while speaking at the rally at Red Fort, said the Bharat Jodo Yatra was not for any political gain. He hit out at the BJP for alleging that the yatra was not following Covid-19 norms. He said the Congress was raising its voice against unemployment and inflation.

"Today, China is attacking us… We also tried hard in Parliament to speak on the unemployment issue, on inflation, on what is going on at the border, the intrusion that China is making today, but this government does not allow us to speak. It is running away from a discussion," Kharge added.

Addressing the gathering, Gandhi said: "Even dogs, cows, buffaloes, pigs entered the yatra, but no one attacked them. There is no hatred, violence during the yatra. If anyone fell, people picked them up in a second. This is real India."

He thanked people for the love and support showered on him during the yatra, which entered its 108th day on Saturday and will resume on January 3 after a nine-day break.

Actor-turned-politician Kamal Hassan also attended the rally and joined the yatra from ITO. He later said there was no politics behind his visit as he heard his inner voice to save India from hatred.

The yatra, which started from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu on September 7, has traversed nine states so far and is set to culminate in Jammu and Kashmir by the end of January. It has covered close to 3,000km in 46 districts across Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Haryana.

Thousands join march to make presence felt

Indian retired servicemen and students, homemakers and working professionals, the young and the old — a motley crew of thousands joined the Congress's Bharat Jodo Yatra on Saturday, when it entered Delhi at the Badarpur border, with some people from other cities joining the march, just for a share of the action.

Rama Shyam, a public health researcher, travelled to Delhi from Mumbai with the express purpose of joining the Bharat Jodo Yatra, with her 11-year-old son Kabir and partner Masood Akhtar accompanying.

The Mumbai resident said that the movement was an opportunity to become a part of a positive change.

"The Bharat Jodo Yatra, unfortunately, did not pass through Mumbai. We were sure we wanted to be a part of this positive movement… For the last seven or eight years, there has been a lot of divisiveness. This movement is very dear to us because it seeks to save the idea of India," said Shyam, as she and her family members waited outside the Jairam Ashram at Ashram in the hope of meeting Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.

While many got a chance to meet Gandhi, others were left disappointed.

Kiran Dhawan, a Congress supporter, stood outside the Jairam Ashram for hours in the hope of meeting Gandhi.

"I support the Congress and Rahul Gandhi. I just want to meet him, give him roses and thank him for leading the march," said Dhawan, who couldn't enter the Jairam Ashram since entries were limited to pass-holders.

The Yatra travelled from Badarpur to Red Fort, passing through the Ashram intersection, Nizamuddin, Zakir Husain Marg, India Gate along the way.

The long waits at various stops, however, didn't hamper the spirits of many others who simply wanted to become a part of a movement.

Romy Thomas, 45, a priest at the Emmanuel Believers fellowship, was waiting for the yatra since 3am Saturday. He put up a kiosk where attendees were welcomed by a man dressed up as Santa Claus.

"It's Christmas Eve today. On this holy day, we are extending support to Gandhi and the march since the country's harmony is in tatters… We feel that the Congress is the only party countering this hate," said Thomas.

A number of school and university students welcomed the march as it passed through New Friends Colony.

Shazia Mumtaz, a 23-year-old BSc student, said she hoped that the march "would defeat hate".

"Hate has crept into schools and universities. We feel the yatra can counter that hate," said Mumtaz.

DB Singh, a 77-year-old resident of Sukhdev Vihar, said he was a supporter of the party and identified with Gandhi's stance on rising unemployment and inflation.

"Gandhi is at least talking about the issues that concern common people like us," he said.