Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi today said that hate cannot defeat hate and it can only be defeated by love. He also said one who spreads hate cannot be a patriot because a patriot can only spread love among people.
Speaking on the occasion party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi, who joined the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra on the forty-second day today, urged people to be cautious against the big talk and big promises while they vote.
Rahul Gandhi said, he had found during his Yatra across the country that it was full of love. He said, hate cannot be defeated by hate and it can only be overcome and defeated with love. In the same context, he asserted that one who is a patriot and loves his country can never spread hate.
The former Congress president said that an overwhelming majority, of about 90 percent Indians, has been denied representation and participation in every sector whether the corporate sector, the media, private hospitals, universities and colleges or even judiciary.
He said, there were about 50 percent backwards, 15 percent Dalits, 15 percent minorities and 8 percent Adivasis, besides economically weaker sections from the general castes who together constitute about 90 percent of the country's population. He said, this “90 percent” population has zero representation in top 200 corporate groups as none of them owns or is in the top management of these companies.
Similarly, he added, this section of the population did not have any representation in the media and a very limited representation in judiciary. That is why, he said, Congress has announced to get the caste census in the country done to find out who controls and owns how much resources.
Gandhi alleged that the people of the country were being robbed and looted in a systematic way. He said, while Prime Minster Modi diverts the attention of people, businessmen like Adani and Ambani rob them and if anybody raises any objections the Home Minister Amit Shah lets loose agencies like the ED, the CBI and the IT against such people to intimidate them.
Addressing the large gathering Ms Priyanka Gandhi reminded people that nothing had changed for them during the last several years of the BJP rule. She pointed out, the unemployment and price rise was rising. Similarly, she said, the papers were getting leaked in the same way.
She urged people to exercise their right to vote after making a proper assessment about their own situation and living conditions rather than getting carried away by big and false promises. She asked them to think whether they had got any jobs or whether they were able to buy the essential things for day to day survival and then decide for whom to vote.
Referring to the massive unemployment prevailing in Uttar Pradesh, Ms Gandhi pointed out, 28 lakh candidates had taken the Police Recruitment Test of the UP government only to learn later that the paper had been leaked. She said, their precious efforts and resources have been wasted with the repeated and frequent paper leaks.
The Congress general secretary pointed out, her party had chalked out a ten-point programme in 2022 for jobs and against rising prices. She said the party manifesto had spelt out the job calendar as when there will be exams and on which date appointments will be made with a provision for accountability against failure to implement it.
She pointed out how the Yogi government was running bulldozers over the houses of people while letting of culprits like the son of a union minister who killed four farmers by running his vehicle over them. Did anyone run bulldozer over his house? she asked, adding, did anyone run a bulldozer over the houses of those who committed excesses on women or leaked the competitive exam papers.
Ms Gandhi made a fervent appeal to people to assess whether there has been any difference in their lives and not get carried away by big posters and banners. “This progress is only on the posters and banners as nothing has actually changed and improved in your lives”, she told the gathering.
