On January 30, Rahul Gandhi concluded his Bharat Jodo Yatra (BJY) in Jammu & Kashmir. Though he propagated to spread ‘love’, ‘peace’ and ‘harmony’ through BJY, there have been several instances since its inception that showed the darker side of the event. Congress leader started his journey on September 7 from Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu, and finished it on January 30 in Jammu and Kashmir. On January 29, he was joined by PDP leader and former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Mehbooba Mufti, who is famous for her rants against the Indian establishment. Her anger towards the abrogation of Article 370 from the valley is well known.
During his Bharat Jodo Yatra, there have been numerous instances that raised questions over the intentions of the Congress leader and the party behind the adventure of over 3,500 KM. Here are eleven times the dark side of BJY came to the fore.
The promoters of the linguistic divide, and regionalism joined in
In Tamil Nadu, Chief Minister MK Stalin was present on day 1. He presented Rahul Gandhi with a Khadi Tricolour. Interestingly, on the very first day of the journey that was supposed to connect Indians, Gandhi was joined by leaders of a party that has always propagated to widen the linguistic divide and regionalism.
Fight against the Indian system rather than any political party
On September 9, Rahul Gandhi made a shocking statement and said he was fighting against the Indian system rather than any political party. He said, “We’re not fighting anymore a political party. It is now between the structure of the Indian state & opposition.” The Wayanad MP had earlier confessed that his party is attacking India’s whole infrastructure, alleging that the Centre had taken control of all democratic institutions in the country.
The anti-Hindu Christian priest’s meeting with Gandhi
On September 9, Gandhi met George Poonaiah, an anti-Hindu pastor who is known for insulting Hindu deities. Gandhi was seen learning about Jesus Christ from the pastor. He was heard asking him, “But, He is not God? Or is he God? Jesus is also God?”
A man in the background was heard explaining how the connection between Jesus Christ and God using the different states of water. “It is Like water, which is in 3 states – solid, liquid, and gaseous form,” he said. The man then proceeded to explain that Jesus Christ is God and also the son of God. “So, Jesus Christ is a form of God?” inquired Rahul Gandhi.
At that point, Father George Ponnaiah intervened and claimed that Jesus is the ‘real God’, unlike ‘Sakthi and other Hindu gods. The rabid Hindu hater said, “He (Jesus Christ) is a real God, revealed as a human person. Not like Sakthi and all.”
Gandhi, who claims to be a Janeudhari Brahmin, had no problem whatsoever and remained a mute spectator while the Christian pastor continued to insult Hindu deities and called them fake and imaginary to promote the idea of Jesus.
Congress leader who had slaughtered cow in public joined Yatra
The next clear case of the divisive nature of the Yatra came to the fore when a Congress leader who made headlines for slaughtering a cow in public in Kerala joined Gandhi. On September 26, 2022, Gandhi met Indian Youth Congress (IYC) leader Rijil Chandram Makkutty who had slaughtered a cow in broad daylight in 2017 to mock Hindu sentiments. Makkutty posted about the meeting on his official Facebook page. He had met Gandhi in Pattambi town in the Palakkad district of Kerala as part of Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra.’
Notably, in 2017, in defiance of the centre’s move to enforce a ban on cow slaughter, Rijil Makkutty along with his aides dragged a calf and brutally slaughtered it. At that time, Gandhi tried to do some damage control and tweeted against the incident. However, the reaction from the senior leader of the party did not have any effect on Rajil’s involvement in the party and he continued to appear with Congress leaders.
Gandhi tried to cause a rift between Maharashtra and Gujarat
On November 9, 2022, Gandhi tried to create differences between the states of Maharashtra and Gujarat by falsely claiming that the projects meant for the former were being moved in the favour of the latter. He claimed that the projects including Tata-Airbus military aircraft partnership and the Vendanta-Foxconn semiconductor plant were “stolen” from Maharashtra and handed over to Gujarat to earn brownie points for the assembly elections that were scheduled in Gujarat.
Involvement of andolanjeevi Yogendra Yadav in the Yatra
Interestingly, Yogendra Yadav, who is famous for his anarchist ‘protests’ and statements against the democratic process of elections, joined Bharat Jodo Yatra and remained a prominent part of the journey till the end. He was also seen at Lal Chowk on January 26.
Controversial ‘saved by Re 1’ lawyer Prashant Bhushan at Yatra
Advocate Prashant Bhushan, who is famous for getting legal protection to anti-national elements including terrorists and illegal Rohingya immigrants, joined Yatra on November 9. In a video, Gandhi was seen asking Bhushan about billionaire Gautam Adani’s wealth. Bhushan claimed it was because of Government’s patronage. Notably, Bhushan fought against the capital punishment awarded to terrorist Yakub Menon in 2017 and got a late-night hearing against his execution.
Controversial ‘activist’ Medha Patkar at Bharat Jodo Yatra
The next person who shocked the sane public of India was Medha Patkar, the infamous ‘activist’ who claim to fame is organising protests against critical infrastructure projects including Sardar Sarovar Dam. Patkar caused decades of delay in the project and forced the people of remote areas of Gujarat and nearby states to live in water scarcity. A case was filed against Patkar in a cheating case in July last year. She and her associates were charged with misappropriation of funds that they collected 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.
Anti-Sikh riots accused Jagdish Tytler at the Yatra
Furthermore, none other than Jagdish Tytler, one of the accused of the anti-Sikh riots of 1984, was also seen at the Yatra.
The hate against Pujaris
On January 8, Gandhi ranted against Pooja (the Hindu form of worship) while trying to promote himself as a Tapasvi (ascetic). Rahul Gandhi made the contentious remarks during the Haryana leg of his ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’. While speaking to the media in Samana near Kurukshetra, Rahul Gandhi claimed that BJP is a party of ‘Pooja’ while Congress is a party of ‘Tapasya.‘
Upon realising that he may have upset his Hindu voters by taking potshots at their religious practice, Rahul Gandhi tried to undo the damage but ended up causing more harm to his party. “There are two types of Pooja – the normal one and the one done by RSS. RSS wants people to forcibly worship them(do their Pooja). The response to such a form of worship can only be tapasya. BJP says that there should be no respect for tapasya but only for those who do our pooja,” Rahul said.
Gandhi racked up “outsider” rhetoric in J&K amidst the deadly attacks on non-locals by terrorists
While speaking during the last leg of his Yatra at Jammu and Kashmir, Gandhi lashed out at the ‘non-locals’ in the valley. He said, “Earlier, locals of Jammu used to do business here. Locals of Jammu & Kashmir used to run Jammu & Kashmir. Today ‘outsiders’ are running it. Our rights, and our voice, are not heard by the administration.” The Congress leader further said, “Entire trade in Jammu & Kashmir is being done by outsiders. The people of Jammu & Kashmir are just watching them. Secondly, unemployment is highest in Jammu & Kashmir in entire India.” Thereby implying that locals are losing out to outsiders when it comes to jobs and trade.
Apart from these incidents Rahul Gandhi also attacked Veer Savarkar during the Yatra. On November 17, he reiterated that Veer Savarkar helped the British government and wrote mercy petitions “out of fear”. Rahul Gandhi accused the Indian freedom fighter of betraying the likes of Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel, and Mahatma Gandhi in the Akola district of Maharashtra. He alleged, “Veer Savarkar, in a letter written to the British, said – Sir, I beg to remain your most obedient servant” & signed on it. Savarkar helped the British. He betrayed leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru & Sardar Patel by signing the letter out of fear.”
Furthermore, he met up with 2G scam-accused DMK MP Kanimozhi, and Abhay Thipsay, the man who defended Nirav Modi in the UK court. The Congress scion was also close to onboarding 1984 anti-Sikh riot accused Jagdish Tytler in his ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra.’ He also gave a platform to Islamists to peddle false victimhood. During the course of this yatra, his party cadre was found manhandling and soliciting money from a poor vegetable vendor in Kollam.
