Plurality Under Threat, India Will Reject Hatred: Rahul in Letter to Be Distributed as Yatra Follow-up

Divisive forces are attempting to turn our diversity against us but India will reject hatred and vicious agenda cannot go on any longer, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has said in a letter that will be distributed among people as part of the party’s follow-up campaign to the Bharat Jodo Yatra.

Along with Gandhi’s letter, party workers will also distribute a charge sheet against the Narendra Modi government as part of ‘Haath se Haath Jodo Abhiyan’ that will be run from January 26 to March 26 at block, district and state levels, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh told a press conference at the AICC headquarters here.

“As part of this campaign, 2.5 lakh gram panchayats, six lakh villages and about 10 lakh election booths will be covered,” he said, adding that the Congress has never undertaken such a programme at this scale.

There will be a ‘Mahila Yatra’ in every state capital, padyatras at block levels and conventions at the district levels in which state and national level leaders will participate, Ramesh said.

He also released the Gandhi’s letter that would be delivered to people by Congress leaders along with a soon-to-be released “charge sheet”.

In his letter, Gandhi says, “I write to you after completing the historic, 3,500 km long Bharat Jodo Yatra where millions of Indians walked with us from Kanyakumari to Kashmir. It was the most enriching journey of my life, and I am overwhelmed by the love and affection that every single Indian has showered on us.” There is a palpable economic crisis brewing — joblessness among the youth, unbearable price rise, severe farm distress, and a complete corporate capture of the country’s wealth, Gandhi says.

“Today, even our plurality is under threat. Divisive forces are attempting to turn our diversity against us — different religions, communities, regions are being pitted against each other. These forces, which are only a handful in number, know that only when people feel insecure and scared can they sow the seeds of hatred for the ‘other’. But after this Yatra, I am convinced that this vicious agenda has its limits, and it cannot go on any longer,” he says in the letter.

Gandhi promises to fight eradicate these evils — from the streets to the Parliament, every single day.

“I am determined to create economic prosperity for everyone – right price for farmers’ produce, jobs for our youth, fair distribution of the country’s wealth, an enabling environment for MSMEs and entrepreneurs, cheaper diesel, a stronger rupee, and a gas cylinder for Rs. 500,” he says.

The people of our country realise that we cannot reach our full potential unless we embrace our diversity and work shoulder to shoulder, he says.

“I strongly believe that India will reject hatred. We will rise above caste, religion, language, gender, and all other differences that cause rifts in a society. Our greatness lies in our Unity in Diversity,” says the letter.

Gandhi’s message of ‘Daro Mat (fear not)’ is also part of the letter in which he also says that this Yatra has renewed my vigour to fight for everyone and it has been “my Tapasya”.

“I understand that my personal and political journey is one – to give voice to the voiceless, to be the weapon of the weak, to take India from darkness to light, from hate to love, from suffering to prosperity. I will carry forward the vision and values of those who gave us our extraordinary Constitution,” Gandhi says.

Through the ‘Haath se Haath Jodo Abhiyan’, the Congress party is extending its hand to you — lend a hand, come together to put the country back on the path of building a Swarnim Bharat, he says.

Ramesh said the effort is to reach each and every household with this letter and the ‘charge sheet’.

He said it would be a challenge to reach every household as the Congress organisation is weak in some states but the party has resolved to undertake this outreach programme.

He said the yatra, which is on a rest day in Punjab, will enter Pathankot on January 19 and there a rally will be held.

Ramesh said the yatra will enter Jammu on the evening of January 20. Then there will be a rest day, after which the walk will resume on January 22.

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