Bharat Jodo? But Ambedkar Already Did It: Ramdas Athawale To Rahul Gandhi

Republican Party of India (Athawale) chief and Union Minister Ramdas Athawale termed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's Bharat jodo yatra as "Bharat todo yatra" (Break India Yatra).

"I feel this is not Rahul Gandhi's Nyay Yatra but this is 'Anyay yatra' (injustice yatra) . This is not Bharat jodo yatra but Bharat todo yatra," Mr Athawale told reporters on Friday.

Claiming that the yatra is just for creating political drama, he said that there is no need for it.

"The country was divided earlier but BR Ambedkar's constitution united India in such a way that it is impossible to break it. Rahul Gandhi doesn't have to worry about the country; for that, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and we are here," Mr Athawale said.

He further said that the Congress would not get any political benefit from the Bharat Jodo Yatra.

"When they (Congress) were in power, then they did not try to unite the country or give justice to people. This is just a drama so this yatra won't benefit Congress," he said.

Meanwhile, West Bengal Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury alleged on Friday that the administration of Siliguri denied the permission for a "small meeting" sought by the grand old party during the ongoing Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, led by his party MP Rahul Gandhi.

The Congress Leader in Lok Sabha said that the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra has been at the receiving end of several challenges since the beginning whether it is in the Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled states or Mamata Banerjee-led Bengal.

"Nyay yatra has been attacked with all sorts of tactics since the very beginning... In Manipur, Rahul Gandhi was not allowed to hold a public meeting where we wanted it to be held. We had to conduct this meeting on a private property outside of Manipur... In Assam, many police personnel attacked the yatra on orders from the government... In West Bengal, we requested to hold a meeting in Siliguri, but it was denied," Mr Chowdhury said.

He said, "If they had done anything against the ruling party in Bengal, the government would have created obstacles in Yatra. But this Nyay Yatra is for everyone in the country, not to support or oppose anyone."

This came a day after, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, soon after starting the Bengal leg of the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, struck a conciliatory tone against the backdrop of senior member of the opposition's INDIA bloc Mamata Banerjee's vow to go solo in Lok Sabha polls in her state.
 

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