Congress leader Rahul Gandhi today said that during his two ‘yatras’ across the length and breadth of the country by way of Bharat Jodo Yatra and Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, he had found that India was not a country of hatred, but was full of love and respect for everyone. He, however, added, it is the widespread injustice prevailing everywhere that sometimes gives rise to hate and violence. Otherwise, love is deep inside India’s DNA, he remarked.
Speaking during the ‘Jan Nyay Padyatra’ here today, Gandhi pointed out, India was the first country in the world, which had got freedom not with violence but with peace and non-violence. He said the Civil Rights Movement in the US and the South African freedom struggle were both inspired by Mahatma Gandhi’s philosophy of love and non-violence.
The former Congress president said that two competing ideologies were prevailing in the country concurrently. One believed in imposing decisions from the top, while the other believes in talking to people at grassroots.
He said, the BJP and the RSS believe in imposing the things and decisions from the top and they believe that only one person possesses all the wisdom in the world.
In strong contrast, Gandhi said, Congress believes in listening to everyone from the grassroots. In the same context, he added, various guarantees, which the party has promised to people of the country are not actually from the Congress, but have come out from the people of the country as they want these things to happen.
Seeking to change the status quo, Gandhi said, the existing system in the country works for a select 2/3 or a maximum of five percent people while the rest of the people have to face different types of injustices at every step.
He pointed out how the Modi government waived off Rs 16 lakh crores of about 20/25 people and if farmers demand a loan waiver, arguments are put against it that this will mean spoiling them. He said similar arguments were put forth when the UPA government introduced MGNREGA that provided work for crores of people. He observed, for the existing system, waiving off Rs 16 lakh crore of loans of a few people does not spoil them (the big billionaires) but providing work to people under MGNREGA will spoil them (the workers).
Gandhi expressed confidence that the truth and the majority of people across the country were with the Congress. He dismissed the apprehensions that the BJP will ever be able to change the constitution, saying they can never do that as they will never get a chance to do that.