Rahul Gandhi interacts with civil society leaders during ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’ in Gujarat

PTI

Bharuch (Gujarat), March 9

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday interacted with around 70 civil society leaders associated with Dalit, tribal and farmer movements during his ongoing ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’ in Gujarat’s Narmada district.

The 6,700-km ‘Manipur to Mumbai’ yatra entered the BJP-ruled state on Thursday from Rajasthan.

The interaction program took place at Kunvarpara. The activists highlighted the fact that some Adivasi (tribal) communities in Gujarat face multiple dislocations in their lifetime, often being evicted three-four times without adequate compensation and rehabilitation, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said in a post on X.

“The activists also spoke about how the housing market in different parts of the state is getting segregated caste-wise, and how minorities have become increasingly more vulnerable over the last twenty years,” Ramesh said.

The activists also spoke about the “all-pervasive atmosphere of fear and intimidation” over the past two decades in Gujarat, he said, claiming that civil society institutions such as cooperatives in the milk sector have been captured politically.

Later, in a public interaction at Netrang in Bharuch district, Rahul Gandhi said a caste census would be a revolutionary step, ensuring everyone’s participation in India’s wealth and institutions, and also promised to remove the 50 per cent cap on reservations in educational admissions and government jobs.

AAP candidate from Bharuch Lok Sabha seat, Chaitar Vasava, was standing by his side. Leaders and workers of AAP, which has formed an electoral alliance with the Congress for the Lok Sabha polls in the state, are taking part in the yatra.

“You must not forget that a caste census is a revolutionary step. You should not let this go. It will open the way for you. It is my aim to ensure participation of every Indian in the country’s wealth and its institutions,” the Congress leader told the gathering.

Caste census and economic survey are the first steps towards ensuring equal participation of “90 per cent of the population”, Gandhi said.

“Let us conduct an X-ray (scan) and find out who owns the wealth of the country, whether tribals hold the wealth and how much, and whether they are leading large organisations. It will make everything clear, and you will find out that you are being fooled,” he said, addressing the audience consisting largely of people from tribal communities.

The BJP government has taken away “water, forest, and land” of which tribals are rightful owners, Gandhi alleged, and said his party will ensure that they get them back.

“You are not ‘Vanvasi’ (forest-dweller) but ‘Adivasi’ (indigenous people)....We will properly implement the Forest Rights Act and return the land that belongs to you,” he said. Rahul Gandhi also offered prayers at a temple in the Narmada district.

Earlier on Saturday morning, he resumed the yatra from Bodeli in Chhota Udepur district. The Gujarat leg of the yatra will end on Sunday when it enters Maharashtra. 

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