Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday talked of his experiences during the Bharat Jodo Yatra, stating that he is on journey to connect with masses against the policies of BJP government.
Participating in the debate on the motion of no confidence in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi said that yatra was a revelation to him in terms of self-education.
“Initially, when I started (on the yatra), I had in my mind that walking 25 km is no big deal if I can run 10 km every day. Today, when I look at that – it was arrogance. I had arrogance in my heart at that time. But India erases arrogance, erases it in a second,” Rahul Gandhi said.
“So, within two-three days, my knees started hurting, it was an old injury. In the first few days, the wolf became an ant. Jo Hindustan ko ahankar se dekhne nikla nikla that wo poora ka poora ahankar gayab ho gaya…,” he added.
He said ‘Bharat’ was a voice of the country that had been “killed in Manipur”.
“Last year for 130 days I walked from one end to another..with people and the thing I love and for which I am ready to die or go to jail. The truth is this country is a voice… India is the voice of this country to hear this we must eliminate hate,” he said.
“I walked from one end of the country to the other, from the coast to the snowy mountains of Kashmir. Yatra abhi jaari hai (the yatra is still not over),” he added.
Congress leaders have said that Rahul Gandhi will embark on another Yatra from Gujarat to Meghalaya.
Rahul Gandhi embarked on Bharat Jodo Yatra from Kanyakumari in September last year.
Referring to his visit to Manipur, Gandhi recalled his interactions with victims of ethnic violence.
“A few days back, I went to Manipur. Our PM didn’t go, not even to this day, because for him Manipur is not India. I used the word ‘Manipur’ but the truth is it has been divided into two parts…Manipur does not exist anymore,” Gandhi said.
“I asked a woman ‘what happened to you’ to which she responded, ‘My only son was shot in front of my eyes. I cried all night and was with his corpse. I was scared, I left my house and everything I had’”, he added.
Rahul Gandhi said she told him that all she had was clothes she was wearing and a photo which she found after rummaging a bit.
Lok Sabha took up debate on the motion of no-confidence against the government on Tuesday.
