SAN FRANCISCO: Taking aim at the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government in the national capital, Congressman Rahul Gandhi said on Wednesday that he had to start the "Bharat Jodo Yatra" because all methods of engaging the public in politics were "being controlled" and that "the whole India" joined him on the massive march.
The Congress leader, who is in the US for ten days, addressed the Indian Diaspora on Wednesday at an occasion called "Mohabbat ki Dukaan" in San Francisco.
Speaking at the gathering, Rahul Gandhi stated, "We started a trek from Kanyakumari to Kashmir a few months ago. We came to the realisation that the traditional tools for doing politics—connecting with people—were no longer effective as we were walking. They were under the BJP and RSS's authority. Agencies are utilised against people who are threatened. Acting politically has in some ways grown to be pretty challenging. We made the decision to walk from Srinagar to India's farthest southern point for this reason.
Rahul Gandhi poked fun at Prime Minister Modi by claiming that some Indian organisations suffer from the "disease" of thinking they are experts in all things.
"We were raised around individuals from many religious and linguistic backgrounds in India. And it is the target of the attack. Gandhi Ji and Guru Nanak Ji, among others, established the idea in India that you shouldn't assume you know everything. Some Indian ethnic groups have the "disease" of thinking they are all-knowing. They might explain to God if they have a conversation with him," he stated.
The Congress leader said, "And of course, Prime Minister is one of them," to further elaborate on his statement. He would begin by describing to God how the cosmos functions if you forced him to do so, and God would become perplexed by what I had made.
Scientists can speak to the BJP and receive an explanation of science. They are able to instruct historians on the past, the army on combat, and the air force on flying. But the fact remains that they are ignorant, he lamented.
Rahul Gandhi continued to claim that the BJP-led government at the federal level was "trying everything to stop" his "Bharat Jodo Yatra," but nothing was able to offset its "effect."
"We decided to wait and see what would happen when the Yatra began. We discovered in 5–6 days that walking tens of thousands of kilometres is not an easy task. My old knee ailment had started to bother me. Then something unexpected happened. Every day, I would walk 25 kilometres, and I never felt fatigued at all. Everyone in my immediate vicinity claimed not to be fatigued. The entire country of India was walking alongside us, not just us, the Congress leader claimed.
He added that the concept for "Nafrat Ke Bazaar Mein Mohabbat Ki Dukaan" had first into his head while on the Yatra.
"'Bharat Jodo' is a notion that is about respecting and being kind to one other, and it is not just in India. It is about avoiding aggression and violence against one another. In comparison to Guru Nanak Ji, I did nothing. I read that he travelled on foot to Thailand, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, and Mecca. He had practised Bharat Jodo for a long time. Basavana ji lived in Karnataka. Every state in Kerala has had these titans, Narayan Guruji added.
Rahul Gandhi said that one cannot know anything without listening to people. "Our nation has a tradition like that. Any notion that comes our way can be absorbed. India has never disapproved of a concept. Open arms have been extended to everyone. And it has taken their concept into account. India that values each person, India that is modest, and India that is loving. And that is the India you speak for. If you had not believed in this, you would not be present. Rahul Gandhi said, "If you had believed in rage, hatred, or conceit, you would have joined the BJP, and I would have launched 'Mann ki Baat'.
Rahul Gandhi set to go to US today
Rahul Gandhi going to America for 10 days, will give speech at Stanford University