On Wednesday, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his ‘Mann ki Baat,’ claiming that his party listened to the people’s voices for eight hours a day and spoke for 15 minutes. The remark, made during a public meeting in Madhya Pradesh’s Burhanpur as part of the Bharat Jodo Yatra, was a reference to the prime minister’s radio programme, in which he addresses the nation for up to 30 minutes each month.
“We interact with people in between the yatra. We hear people’s ‘Man ki Baat’ for about eight hours and speak for about 15 minutes. Not like PM’s ‘Man Ki Baat’… we listen to what is on the mind of farmers, youth, women, labourers and small-scale traders…” Gandhi said.
The Congress leader, who is leading the Bharat Jodo Yatra, said he would walk 370 kilometres in Madhya Pradesh and refuted the ruling BJP’s claim that covering the yatra’s stated 3,300 kilometres is impossible. Gandhi stated that he had already visited Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Maharashtra.
The yatra is set to conclude in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir.
“I am very happy today we are taking our first step in Madhya Pradesh. We will have a lot of talks, will hug you a lot and will understand the problems of the farmers and people. The problem is slightly different in every state and in every district,” Rahul Gandhi said.
He also referred to the fall of the Congress’ government in the state, and said, “… they (the BJP) bought 20-25 of our corrupt MLAs.” Congress leader Kamal Nath resigned as chief minister in March 2020 after 22 MLAs jumped to the BJP and brought down his government.
Rahul Gandhi was joined on the first day of the yatra in the state by his sister and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, as well as her husband Robert Vadra and son.
Former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot also marched with the Gandhis; the optics of Pilot marching with the Gandhis are significant given the Rajasthan unit’s ongoing discontent over the feud between Pilot and chief minister Ashok Gehlot.
Rajasthan, one of the few states controlled by the Congress, will hold elections next year.
Meanwhile, Modi slammed the yatra and the Congress on Monday, calling the former a power grab. The prime minister, who is in his home state of Gujarat to campaign for the BJP ahead of the election next month, also listed alleged insults directed at him by the Congress.
He challenged the Congress to a “confrontation” with the goal of developing Gujarat. The BJP, which has ruled Gujarat for nearly three decades, is widely expected to win.