Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday launched a fresh attack on the Centre, saying the general ambience in the country had deteriorated with castes and languages being pitted against one another.
Rahul made the remark while addressing a gathering of supporters in Fatehgarh Sahib during the ongoing Punjab leg of the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’. “They are trying to pit one caste against another and one language against another. They have ruined the general ambience in the country,” the former Congress president leader said.
He further mentioned that the yatra aims to fight hatred, unemployment, inflation and violence and spread the message of love, unity and brotherhood.
“We felt the nation needed to be shown a different path — of love, unity and brotherhood. That was what prompted us to launch the yatra. We will be among you and interact with you over the next 10 days,” Rahul told the gathering.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Congress leader visited Gurdwara Fatehgarh Sahib and offered his prayers.
The yatra will cover several parts of Punjab over eight days before reaching Jammu and Kashmir, its final stop, on 19 January.
Braving the biting cold and severe fog, party supporters and locals gathered in large numbers, extending their support to Rahul Gandhi.
The Congress leader on Tuesday visited Sri Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple) in Amritsar as the yatra entered Punjab.
The former Congress president resumed the yatra in Haryana’s Ambala on Tuesday.
On Monday, the yatra was dedicated to women and women’s empowerment, as women Bharat Yatris matched steps with the Congress leader.
During the Haryana leg of the Bharat Jodo Yatra, the Wayanad MP took a jibe at the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), calling them Kauravas of the 21st century, who wear Khakhi half-pants, run shakhas, and work against the national culture.
“Kauravas of the 21st century wear Khakhi half-pants and run ‘shakhas’. Beside them, stand the country’s 2-3 richest people,” Gandhi said while addressing a gathering in Kurukshetra.
“RSS members never chant Har Har Mahadev because Lord Shiva was a Tapasavi and these people are attacking India’s ‘Tapasya’. They have removed Goddess Sita from ‘Jai Siya Ram’. These people are working against India’s culture,” Rahul had said.
The yatra, which started from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu on 7 September, will end at Srinagar on 30 January, with Rahul hoisting the Tricolour there.
