Riding a bright red open-air jeep on the 38th day of his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and his entourage reached Uttar Pradesh’s capital Lucknow on Tuesday. It was the yatra’s fifth day in the state.
Hundreds of people gathered along the roads to catch a glimpse of the Congress MP. The yatra that started from Manipur’s Thoubal on January 14 will conclude in Mumbai on March 20, covering over 6,700 kilometres and traversing through 110 districts. Prior to addressing a rally at Lucknow’s Ghanta Ghar, the old city area of the state capital, Rahul’s cavalcade stopped at several points where people greeted him in large numbers.
“Nafrat ke bazar mein mohabbat ki dukaan kholne nikle hain,” said the Congress leader, reiterating the aim behind the yatra while addressing the gathering at Lucknow’s Ghanta Ghar area late on Tuesday evening.
Rahul said he was overwhelmed by the love and support the people of Lucknow showered on him. “India is the country of love and peace. Last year we covered around 4,000 km from Kashmir to Kanyakumari to unite the country and to spread communal harmony. Though our yatra was much appreciated, some people pointed out that I should also visit UP, Bihar, Assam, Odisha, Jharkhand, and other states that I missed. So we embarked upon another yatra – Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra – covering Manipur to Maharashtra,” the Congress leader said.
While recounting his experiences from the first yatra, the Congress MP said he asked many “the reason behind the hatred being spread in the country”. “The answer was one–in this country people from the downtrodden groups can’t get justice, it is only meant for the higher class. The biggest injustice is financial injustice, which is being done to eradicate small traders,” he said.
The Congress leader pointed to incidents of exam question paper leak in UP, which he said were spoiling the future of many youths from the disadvantaged sections of society. He also highlighted the problem of unemployment, which he said is a major issue in the state, and also criticised the new Agnipath scheme for recruitment in the armed forces.
Rahul Gandhi said that if his party comes to power after the soon-to-be-held Lok Sabha elections, it would swiftly carry out the caste census, which is the only way to find out the social status of people belonging to the backward sections.
“It’s been six years since we last got paid. Rahul Gandhi ji is our only hope and it is the sole reason why we all are here to extend our support to him,” said Pankaj Mishra, a madarsa teacher, who had come from UP’s Shravasti district to meet Rahul Gandhi at KKC, a place where his yatra halted for a while after entering Lucknow. It paused again at Telibagh Crossing when a youngster requested the Congress leader for a selfie.
On Monday, the Congress leader reached Amethi with his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, where he addressed a rally and took potshots at the BJP government on several burning issues, including caste discrimination, unemployment, etc.
Rahul Gandhi, who received a warm response from Congress cadres and the common people at several places in Amethi, also reiterated the promises of guaranteed MSP for farmers and caste census.
Amethi was a Congress stronghold in Uttar Pradesh until Rahul Gandhi lost the Lok Sabha seat to BJP leader and union minister Smriti Irani by a margin of around 55,000 votes in the 2019 elections.
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