Hindustan Times ST (Mumbai) - HT Navi Mumbai Live
Allies rally around in show of strength
Rahul Gandhi draws cheers, love from the crowds. Aaditya Thackeray to join rally on Friday
NANDED: The first public rally of the Bharat Jodo Yatra in Maharashtra on Thursday was a show of unity with Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leaders joining the yatra and extending their support. The leaders clarified that their president Sharad Pawar wanted to participate but was not allowed to by doctors.
The centre stage was shared by Gandhi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, senior leaders from the Congress, Maharashtra NCP president Jayant Patil, Baramati MP Supriya Sule and former minister Jitendra Awhad. The stages set up at either end were shared by yatris, the 120 Congress workers who are walking with Gandhi from Kanyakumari to Kashmir.
In his first public address in the Maharashtra leg of the yatra, Gandhi’s focus was the sins of omission and commission of the BJP and Narendra Modi. Mocking the pre-election promises made by Modi in 2014 with regard to bringing back black money and putting Rs 15 lakh in every Indian’s bank account, he went on to diss demonetisation.
“Modi ji announced demonetisation, saying that he was fighting a battle against black money. A few days later, he said that if black money was not eliminated, he was willing to be hanged to death. Moments later, he also started crying,” Gandhi said sarcastically.
He then asked the audience if black money had been eliminated in the six years since demonetisation was announced. “Where is the Rs 15 lakh?” he asked the crowd and quipped, “It is also missing the way major projects from Maharashtra have gone missing.”
Gandhi was referring to the four big-ticket projects worth thousands of crores which shifted from Maharashtra to Gujarat, allegedly at the say-so of the PM to help the BJP win electoral support in the forthcoming assembly election in Gujarat. Gandhi slammed the Shinde-Fadnavis government on this score.
The rally was attended by thousands of people at the New Mondha Ground in Nanded city. Before this, Gandhi, along with other NCP leaders, started the second leg of his walk from Deglur Naka with a crowd of thousands. The sides of the roads were also packed with people eager to get a glimpse of the Congress leader.
On his way, Gandhi visited the memorial of Shankarrao Chavan, former chief minister of Maharashtra and father of Congress heavyweight Ashok Chavan. The latter used all his resources to single-handedly make the Bharat Jodo Yatra in Nanded, his stronghold, a huge success. The entire city was packed with hoardings of the Congress and the yatra.
The Maharashtra Congress had planned to make the rally a grand event by inviting Bollywood actors but reportedly did not manage to get any big names. Actor Sushant Singh, who was present, shared the stage with Gandhi. “I have never attended a political rally in my life. First I felt that this is a Congress rally. Then I realised that it is a rally to unit India, and I must attend it,” the actor said to tremendous applause. “Many people are spreading hate,” he added. “The path of love is always very difficult but you (Rahul Gandhi) have chosen it.”
Kharge, who came down to Nanded for the rally, slammed the prime minister for not fulfilling his promise of providing two crore jobs every year. “He added that it was the Congress that had secured the Constitution for 70 years, because of which Modi could become prime minister.
Yuva Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray is likely to join the rally on Friday.