Clarion India
NEW DELHI – Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said the Tricolour belongs to every religion, state and language, but it is under attack today by the BJP and the RSS that are dividing India into lines of religion and language.
“Today, India is facing its worst economic crisis. A handful of large businesses control the entire country. Earlier, there was the East India Company which controlled India and today, there are 3-4 big companies which control entire India,” Gandhi said at the launch of the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ at a rally in Tamil Nadu’s Kanyakumari.
Gandhi added that every single institution of the country is under attack as he sought the support of the people to help keep the country united.
“Our Tricolour guarantees the right to practice any religion of choice, but today this flag is under attack,” Gandhi said at the rally.
He said the Tricolour did not come easily as it was earned by Indians of every religion, region and language.
“They (BJP) think they can frighten the Opposition using the CBI, ED and IT. The problem is they don’t understand Indian people. Indian people don’t get scared. Not a single opposition leader is going to be scared of the BJP,” the Congress MP said.
The Congress leader earlier visited the Vivekananda Memorial in Kanyakumari ahead of the yatra. The 148-day march will culminate in Kashmir. The five-month yatra is scheduled to cover a distance of 3,500 kilometres and more than 12 states. The padyatra (march) will cover a distance of 25 km every day.
“It gives me great joy to begin Bharat Jodo Yatra from this beautiful place. The national flag represents the religion and language of every single person living in this country. They (BJP and RSS) think that this flag is their personal property,” Gandhi said.
On Wednesday, Gandhi attended a prayer meeting at the Rajiv Gandhi Memorial in Sriperumbudur. Sriperumbudur is where his father Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated in a bomb blast on May 21, 1991, during campaigning for the Lok Sabha polls.
In what is being seen as a Congress’ “masterstroke” to take on the Narendra Modi government in the upcoming 2024 elections, the Congress launched the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’.
