India’s plurality is under threat and ‘divisive forces are attempting to turn our diversity against us but India will reject hatred,’ Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said in a letter that will be distributed as part of a follow-up campaign to the Bharat Jodo Yatra.
On Friday, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh released Mr. Gandhi’s letter and said party workers would also distribute a charge sheet against the Narendra Modi government as part of ‘Haath se Haath Jodo Abhiyan’ that will go on between January 26 and March 26 at block, district and State levels.
“As part of this campaign, 2.5 lakh gram panchayats, six lakh villages and about 10 lakh election booths will be covered,” Mr. Ramesh said. There would be a ‘Mahila Yatra’ in State capitals, padayatras at block levels and conventions at the district levels in which State and national level leaders would participate, he said, adding that the Congress had never undertaken such a programme at this scale.
Mr. Ramesh acknowledged the challenge in reaching every household since the party’s organisation was weak in some States but the party had resolved to undertake this outreach programme that was an extension of the Bharat Jodo Yatra.
‘Overwhelmed by love’
In his letter, Mr. Gandhi says, “I write to you after completing the historic 3,500 km-long Bharat Jodo Yatra where millions of Indians walked with us from Kanniyakumari to Kashmir. It was the most enriching journey of my life, and I am overwhelmed by the love and affection that every single Indian has showered on us”.
He said a palpable economic crisis was brewing — joblessness among the youth, unbearable price rise, severe farm distress, and a complete corporate capture of the country’s wealth.
“Today, even our plurality is under threat. Divisive forces are attempting to turn our diversity against us — different religions, communities, regions are being pitted against each other. These forces, which are only a handful in number, know that only when people feel insecure and scared can they sow the seeds of hatred for the ‘other’. But after this Yatra, I am convinced that this vicious agenda has its limits, and it cannot go on any longer,” he said.
“I strongly believe that India will reject hatred. We will rise above caste, religion, language, gender, and all other differences that cause rifts in a society. Our greatness lies in our Unity in Diversity,” says the letter.
Promising to fight for the people every single day — from the streets to the Parliament — Mr. Gandhi said, “I am determined to create economic prosperity for everyone — right price for farmers’ produce, jobs for our youth, fair distribution of the country’s wealth, an enabling environment for MSMEs and entrepreneurs, cheaper diesel, a stronger rupee, and a gas cylinder for ₹500”.
The Congress leader said his personal and political journey was one — “to give voice to the voiceless, to be the weapon of the weak, to take India from darkness to light, from hate to love, from suffering to prosperity. I will carry forward the vision and values of those who gave us our extraordinary Constitution”.
Mr. Ramesh accused the Modi government of politicising COVID-19 to stop the yatra and questioned Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya’s letter to Mr Gandhi.
“What was the objective of that letter? Effort was made to stop the Bharat Jodo Yatra on the pretext of COVID. I want to ask the Health Minister what happened to the protocol. Twenty-three days have passed and no protocol has been issued,” he said at a press conference at the AICC headquarters.
