Bharat Jodo Yatra Day 10: Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was focused on releasing cheetahs in the wild instead of worrying over rising prices and unemployment in the country. Rahul Gandhi was addressing a rally as part of the nationwide foot march that culminated for the day at Cheppad near Haripad in Kerala. Rahul Gandhi who is leading the Congress' Bharat Jodo Yatra said, You imagine, the Prime Minister should be spending his time, thinking about unemployment, resolving the unemployment crisis, resolving the prices issue, but, the Prime Minister is busy photographing Cheetahs...
Shri Rahul Gandhi said, I would like to welcome all the senior leaders on the stage and all the Congress leaders, workers, and friends from the public. I would like to welcome all of you here today and I would like to begin by thanking to all of you for supporting this yatra, for walking with this yatra and for putting all your energy behind the idea of Bharat Jodo and this yatra.
Shri Rahul Gandhi said,We call this yatra 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' and the idea is to bring India together, and unite India once again. We have the forces that are in power in Delhi that divide the nation along religious lines, along language lines, and over the last 8 years, they have created an atmosphere of anger, hatred and divisiveness in the entire country and the ideas that they promote are against the DNA of our nation and against the DNA of the people of Kerala and it is very clear to see on the streets of Kerala that there is nothing, but, love, affection and the unity in the state and this idea is not a new idea in Kerala, It comes from your great leaders like Shri Narayana Guru, Chattampi Swamikal Ji, Mahatma Ayyankali Ji. All these people preached togetherness, brotherhood and unity and they preached it because they understood, it was important for the people for there to be harmony in the society, because without harmony, there can be no progress.
Mr. Gandhi said, Today, we saw a fantastic dance performance by youngsters. The dance was about the unemployment crisis in India. Through dance, they explained the entire crisis to all of us. They showed us, how 2 or 3 big businessmen have captured all the wealth of the country. They showed us how the millions of youngsters take exams again and again and again, go for interviews again and again and again and don't get a job. They showed us the pain by the family members, by the parents and the children themself and then they showed the tragic consequences like suicide.
Imagine a country where our youngsters are committing suicide, because they cannot get a job. Imagine a country where 2 or 3 big businessmen control the entire wealth of the country. Any business they want to do, they can enter and dominate. They can squeeze everybody out of that business. Why, because they are close to the leadership of the country. Ports, airports, roads, telecoms, power, agriculture, any business they want to dominate, they can dominate. On one side you have 2 or 3 big business people and on the other side you have crores of Indian people who cannot get a job, who have to suffer the indignity of the high prices, who have to see their children go hungry. Crores and crores of people have been pushed back into poverty as a result of this. The government of India systematically attacks small and medium businesses, systematically attacks farmers, systematically attacks labourers.
Mr. Gandhi said, It's an amazing side. On one side, we have the highest unemployment, on the other side, we have the highest prices we have had in years. People of India are going through tremendous pain. At the same time, the Prime Minister has got 8 Cheetahs from Africa, It's absurd. The problems of the nation are unemployment and prices. But, the Prime Minister is relapsing Cheetahs in the wild.
Rahul Gandhi said,You imagine, the Prime Minister should be spending his time, thinking about unemployment, resolving the unemployment crisis, resolving the prices issue, but, the Prime Minister is busy photographing Cheetahs. I don't have a problem with Cheetahs, Cheetahs have done nothing wrong, and I am happy that Cheetahs are being reintroduced, but, the Prime Minister must also do something about the millions and millions of youngsters who don't have jobs.
The Prime Minister should also do something about the pain the people of India are suffering, because of the rise in the prices. Prime Minister should do about the Cashew workers, about the coir workers, about the millions of auto rickshaw drivers, delivery boys, who have to pay huge amount of petrol. And that is the idea of the Bharat Jodo Yatra, to show that India cannot be divided and to show that there is a price to divide India, there is price to not having a harmonious, peaceful society. And the price is the highest unemployment we have faced, the highest prices we have faced and a concentration of wealth in a few hands.
Rahul Gandhi said,'We have among the richest people in the world and yet we have the highest unemployment in the world. We have extremely high prices and we have huge amounts of inequality in this country. These are the issues that the Bharat Jodo Yatra is trying to bring forward.
I would like to once again thank all of you for joining this yatra, for giving us all your energy and all your support and your love and affection.
