The Hindu - International

On the final day of Nyay Yatra, Rahul slams Adani, Modi

- Abhinay Deshpande

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi continued his tirade against billionair­e industrial­ist Gautam Adani during his visit to Dharavi, one of the largest slum clusters in the world, on Saturday.

He underscore­d the significance of Dharavi’s residents, affirming, “Desh dalal nahi, Dharavi ke log banate hai [the nation is shaped by the people of Dharavi, not by brokers].”

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra joined the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra led by her brother on the final day, as it made its way through Dharavi before concluding at Dadar’s Chaityabho­omi, the memorial of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar.

The 6,000kilomet­relong yatra, which began from the conflictridden Manipur on January 14, entered Mumbai on Saturday after covering 110 districts in 16 States in 63 days. In its last leg, the yatra crossed into Maharashtr­a from Gujarat on March 12 and passed through Nandurbar, Dhule, Malegaon, Nashik, Palghar, and Thane before reaching the country’s financial capital.

Dharavi should be India’s manufactur­ing capital, he said and added, “It’s the talent capital of the country and your skills should be supported. The banks should give you loans. But, the dalal [Mr. Adani] is snatching your land, and the Prime Minister [Narendra Modi] is backing him. This land belongs to you.”

Dharavi is the true embodiment of Make in India and they are being looted roundthecl­ock by the current government, he stated. “The fight is between talent and dalal [Dharavi and Adani],” he said.

The slum, home to nearly 58,000 families, , will be redevelope­d by the Adani Group after it won the tender in November 2022.

Accompanie­d by AICC general secretary (organisati­on) K.C. Venugopal, State incharge Ramesh Chennithal­a, and Dharavi MLA Varsha Gaikwad, the Wayanad MP lashed out at the Enforcemen­t Directorat­e, terming it an “extortion directorat­e”.

On Sunday morning, Mr. Gandhi will undertake a Nyay Sankalp Padyatra from Mani Bhavan to August Kranti Maidan.

Later, Opposition leaders, including National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, his Jharkhand counterpar­t Champai Soren, RJD leader Akhilesh Yadav, will attend the public rally at Shivaji Park here.

 ?? EMMANUAL YOGINI ?? Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra during the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Mumbai.
EMMANUAL YOGINI Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra during the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Mumbai.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from India