The sudden outreach of Rashtriya Swayam Sevak (RSS) Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagawat to the minorities in the country tells the real story of how the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is rattled by the response from the society to Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’, said senior Telangana Congress leaders.
Mr. Bhagawat’s outreach can be considered as a response gauging people’s positive reaction to Mr Gandhi’s yatra, said the AICC coordinator for the yatra and MP N. Uttam Kumar Reddy, Telangana Congress president A. Revanth Reddy, CLP leader Bhatti Vikramarka and TPCC campaign committee chairman Madhu Yaskhi Goud.
As the Bharat Jodo Yatra of Rahul Gandhi is all set to enter Telangana in a few days, in an informal interaction with The Hindu here on Monday, the leaders said the BJP is clearly rattled as it is responding with trivial issues on shirts and shoes rather than the core issues of growing divisiveness, slipping economy and India’s image being battered abroad.
Mr. Revanth Reddy argued that RSS’s reaction itself indicates Rahul Gandhi’s success as the yatra has now become a discussion point from the board rooms of political parties to the dining tables of people. Congress has won the first battle of forcing some change in the way BJP now functions, he said.
Isn’t it unfortunate that India has landed where it was 75 years ago due to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah’s thought process resembling medieval-age kings that ‘I am the king and I am the kingdom’? So Mr. Gandhi’s yatra is being viewed as an ideological war where only India will be the ultimate winner, he says
Mr. Uttam Reddy, who worked in the Indian Air Force, and in Rashtrapathi Bhavan, views the country’s image getting battered abroad seriously due to BJP’s policies. And this yatra is an eye-opener to a lot of sections in India and abroad. Mr. Gandhi’s message is clear that the country cannot survive if its social-fabric is destroyed.
“Indian society is a mix of religions, regions and linguistic groups living in harmony and they have realised the dangers of the disharmony being spread by the BJP for cheap political gains,” says Mr. Vikramarka adding people are welcoming Mr. Gandhi wholeheartedly realising the dangers that lie ahead if the present divisive politics are not curbed.
Mr. Vikramarka further says the BJP’s efforts to control the country through a dangerous mix of religious and monetary politics can be negated only by strengthening the Congress. People have realized that Congress addressed the unrest through positive measures like the nationalisation of banks and land reforms, the BJP is sowing that unrest encouraging crony capitalists where India’s economy is controlled by a couple of businessmen.
That the yatra was a stupendous success in the BJP-ruled Karnataka, said Mr. Madhu Yaskhi. It shows how the civil society is seriously concerned with the BJP’s communal politics, he said. “Rahul Gandhi’s walkathon is not to redefine the Congress or himself but to redefine the nation as the core values on which India is built up is being destroyed.”
Mr. Yaskhi says Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao had become no less dangerous to the society, and like Modi, he has also destroyed Telangana in education, health and economy. “It is low in literacy but high in liquor consumption.” The entire Telangana Congress leadership says Mr. Gandhi’s yatra will be a big success in Telangana as well going by the requests they are getting from all sections of people to join it.
