Rahul Gandhi, senior leader of the Congress, came under fire from the Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday for participating in his Bharat Jodo Yatra with “activist” Medha Patkar. On November 17, Medha Patkar joined Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s “Bharat Jodo Yatra” in Maharashtra.
Medha Patkar was portrayed as being interested in ‘social welfare’ by the Congress party’s ‘Bharat Jodo’ Twitter handle. It tweeted, “When you do something for the society, people involved in social welfare themselves join you… Social activist Medha Patkar participated in ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra.'” Interestingly, Rahul Gandhi decided to indulge Medha Patkar weeks before the Gujarat election.
जब आप समाज के लिए कुछ करते हैं, तो समाज कल्याण में लगे लोग खुद ही आपसे जुड़ते हैं … ‘भारत जोड़ो यात्रा’ में सामाजिक कार्यकर्ता मेधा पाटकर ने की शिरकत।#BharatJodoYatra pic.twitter.com/zkUsab9R8x
— Bharat Jodo (@bharatjodo) November 17, 2022
Bhupendra Patel, the chief minister of Gujarat, accused Rahul Gandhi and the Congress of harbouring hostility toward Gujarat and Gujaratis by apparently giving Medha Patkar a prominent spot on the ongoing “Bharat Jodo Yatra.”
In a tweet, he wrote, “Congress and Rahul Gandhi have time and again shown their animosity towards Gujarat and Gujaratis. By giving Medha Patkar a central place in his Yatra, Rahul Gandhi shows that he stands with those elements who denied water to Gujaratis for decades. Gujarat will not tolerate this.”
Congress and Rahul Gandhi have time and again shown their animosity towards Gujarat and Gujaratis. By giving Medha Patkar a central place in his Yatra, Rahul Gandhi shows that he stands with those elements who denied water to Gujaratis for decades. Gujarat will not tolerate this. https://t.co/94jJBz4spP
— Bhupendra Patel (@Bhupendrapbjp) November 18, 2022
BJP leader and IT cell head of the national party, Amit Malviya said, “Medha Patkar, who spearheaded the campaign against Gujarat’s ambitious Sardar Sarovar Project, did everything to stall the progress of Narmada Yojana, including blocking funds, joins Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra. The Congress has always been anti-Gujarat and it continues…”
Medha Patkar, who spearheaded the campaign against Gujarat’s ambitious Sardar Sarovar Project, did everything to stall the progress of Narmada Yojana, including blocking funds, joins Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra.
— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) November 18, 2022
The Congress has always been anti-Gujarat and it continues… pic.twitter.com/oTiiqnwkGI
Medha Patkar is widely considered to be a notorious foreign-funded NGO operator who launched the campaign against Gujarat’s lifeline Sardar Sarovar Project, blocking the funding for the Sardar Sarovar dam and delaying the progress of the critically important Narmada Yojana for years.
In July of this year, a formal complaint was filed in Madhya Pradesh against ‘activist’ Medha Patkar, who rose to prominence as a consequence of the “Narmada Bachao Andolan,” in a cheating case. Medha Patkar and others have been charged with misappropriating funds in the guise of teaching tribal kids.
According to the FIR, Medha Patkar raised more than Rs 13 crore through the ‘Narmada Navnirman Abhiyan’ foundation. She has been accused of inciting anti-government sentiment by soliciting donations for education.
Who is Medha Patkar?
Medha Patkar is best known for her ‘Narmada Bachao Andolan’ against the Sardar Sarovar Dam on the Narmada river. The protest contributed to the years-long postponement of the Sardar Sarovar Dam project on the Narmada River. So-called social activists and environmentalists like Medha Patkar expressed concern as soon as the construction of the project started. When Medha Patkar visited the project site in 1985, she accused that the dam had fallen short of the social and environmental requirements set forth by the Ministry of Environment and Forests.
For suspected money laundering during the “Narmada Bachao Andolan,” the Enforcement Directorate (ED) filed an FIR against activist Medha Patkar on April 5 this year. In addition to the ED, investigations into Patkar’s shady dealings have also been initiated by the Department of Revenue Intelligence and the Income Tax Department.
According to a Pioneer report, Patkar’s NGO received a donation of roughly Rs 1.2 crores within a year of its foundation in 2004 but managed to elude authorities for almost 17 years.
The investigation raised a number of concerns regarding the payments. According to records obtained by Pioneer, the NGO received the funds on June 18, 2005, from 20 different sources in a single day. Surprisingly, the amount of all 20 donations was the same, which was Rs 5,96,294. Pallavi Prabhaar Bhalekar, one of the donors, was a minor at the time the donations were transferred.
