Bellary: The Congress has repeatedly said that its mass outreach programme, the Bharat Jodo Yatra, is not a political endeavour.
However, in a rally in the Yatra’s Karnataka leg, party leader Rahul Gandhi tore into the Narendra Modi government on unemployment and price rise and invoked his family connections with the state — Sonia Gandhi had won from Bellary and Indira Gandhi from Chikmagalur — as he addressed an enthusiastic crowd at the municipal grounds in this mining town.
“The PM in his earlier speeches would say that cylinders cost Rs 400 and highlighted the sufferings of our mothers and sisters because of that. Today, that same cylinder costs Rs 1,000. Why is the PM silent? The prices of petrol and diesel are the highest in a very long time. So on one side you are hit by unemployment and on the other by high prices… I have been meeting farmers. For the first time, Indian farmers have to pay GST. Several told me they do not get the minimum support price. This government is also anti scheduled castes and tribes. There is a 50 percent rise in atrocities against them. Money that was supposed to be for their development has been diverted. Rs 8,000 cr of your money has been diverted,” he told the audience who vote next year.
Rahul reached the venue right on time at 1.30 pm and was seated between state leaders D.K. Shivakumar and former chief minister Siddaramaiah, who are widely perceived to be engaged in a battle of supremacy in the state.
Both leaders were greeted with enthusiasm from the crowd but it was the former CM who was cheered the loudest and the longest, forcing him to wave at the crowd in a manner of a mild rebuke, asking them to sit down.
Gandhi also slammed the BJP government in the state for their alleged corruption, which has earned them the moniker “40 percent” government. He said in Hindi: “Why are 2.5 lakh government posts vacant in Karnataka? The PM’s policies such as demonetisation, GST and his Covid strategy caused 12.5 crore youth to lose jobs.
“That is what you got instead of the 2 crore jobs promised. If you want to become a sub-inspector in Karnataka, you can do so by paying Rs 80 lakh. If you have money you can buy government jobs in Karnataka. If you don’t, you will remain unemployed. Bank scam, scam in assistant professor jobs — this is why the Karnataka government is called a 40 percent government. Whatever you need done you can by paying 40 percent commission.”
A local leader translated for him in Kannada, and the crowd hooted and clapped in appreciation. Such was the enthusiasm that a brief scuffle broke out in the section that seated state party leaders, and several water bottles were also thrown at each other before the cops paraded out the rowdy men.
Show of unity and strength
The rally was also a show of Congress unity and strength. The two sitting chief ministers of the party — Bhupesh Baghel of Chhattisgarh and Ashok Gehlot — of Rajasthan were in attendance.
Gehlot’s presence alongside Mallikarjun Kharge — the favourite in the race for Congress president — was significant. Gehlot, who was the initial frontrunner, had to drop out at the last minute because of a “rebellion” in Rajasthan.
Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah jointly handed a sword to Rahul that Rajya Sabha leader Randeep Surjewala claimed would be the undoing of the BJP government in the state. Both state leaders and Kharge, who also belongs to Karnataka, spoke in Kannada and received an enthusiastic response from the crowd.
Baghel said a decision to embark on this Bharat Jodo Yatra had been taken during the Udaipur Chintan Shivir to listen to people’s issues across states “as it cannot be done in Parliament or through the media”. He invoked the Yatris of Agastya Muni, Shankaracharya and Vivekananda and also those of Mahatma Gandhi and Vinoba Bhave to highlight the significance of the over 3,500-km trek across the length of the country.
Gehlot said this was the first time since Independence that a Yatra like this had been undertaken. It is to counter the communal forces that are threatening democracy and to dispel the atmosphere of tension, violence and communalismhe said. “A Congress government will happen in Karnataka and Rahul Gandhi’s message will reach every household,” he added.
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