Govt is taking away your land: Rahul to Dharavi residents
MUMBAI: As part of the final leg of the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi addressed a large crowd in Dharavi on Saturday, where he attacked prime minister Narendra Modi for handing over the Dharavi Redevelopment Project (DRP) to the Adani Group, alleging government agents were out to take away land belonging to people residing there.
Rahul was accompanied by party leader and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, as he completed 6,700 kilometers of the march that began in Manipur on January 14.
“Dharavi is your land. Your hard work has developed this land. It should remain with you. The prime minister is standing behind Adani,” said the Congress leader, alleging Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) connivance with Adani.
He reinforced his allegation over electoral bonds against BJP and the PM and said the “Indian government was running the biggest extortion of the world and thousands of crores were given to Modi’s party in bonds”.
“It is being done in three ways – for instance, they will approach a company with a project like the one in Dharavi, and then ask for revenue share by going into partnership. They will force people from Dharavi to leave by using police force,” said the Congress leader, as he advocated making Dharavi a manufacturing capital of the country.
“Your skills should be supported by opening doors of banks (for disbursing loans); it should become India’s manufacturing sector. Dharavi is the real ‘Make in India’,” he said.
Rahul Gandhi’s yatra entered Mumbai from Thane, through the busy Lal Bahadur Shastri Road to reach Dharavi. It culminated at Chaityabhoomi, Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar’s memorial, at Dadar. Both Rahul and Priyanka paid their tributes to the Dalit icon. A rally will be held at Shivaji Park on Sunday to formally bring the yatra to a close. Top leaders from the INDIA bloc have been invited for the rally.
Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi chief Prakash Ambedkar, who has been having disputes with Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) and the INDIA alliance over seat-sharing ratio, will participate in the rally. In a post on X, Ambedkar confirmed that he had received an invitation from Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge which he had accepted.
He said, he has also invited Kharge and Gandhi for a meal at his house Rajgruha, Dadar, on Sunday.
Meanwhile, the Dharavi Redevelopment Project Pvt Ltd (DRPPL) issued a press release by the end of the day, countering the Congress leader’s allegations. “The allegations of ‘selling all of Mumbai to Adani’ are preposterous, malicious, and unfounded. They are made with the intention of detracting from the critical conversation about improving the lives of Dharavikars,” the release said.