Kanhaiya Kumar lashes out at BJP after Rahul’s yatra faces hurdles in Assam
The Assam police on Tuesday booked Rahul Gandhi, Kanhaiya Kumar and Congress leader KC Venugopal.
New Delhi: Congress leader Kanhaiya Kumar on Wednesday lashed out at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for creating obstructions in the party’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra and said that the BJP is doing it “out of fear” adding that the Congress would not be cowed by these measures.
His remarks came a day after the row erupted in Assam on Tuesday after party leader Rahul Gandhi was denied permission to visit a temple in Nagaon district by police authorities citing a law and order situation leading to a scuffle between the party workers and the state police.
Kumar, the All India Congress Committee in charge of the National Students’ Union of India, was addressing a press conference at party headquarters on Wednesday.
“The workers of a party that could defeat the British in this country, who were not frightened by their cannons and gallows, and whose members remained in jail for years, will not be scared of barricades,” Kumar said.
Also Read: Row erupts as Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra curbed in Assam
“We are workers of the Congress and walk Gandhiji’s path. We will not commit violence and break the law,” said Kumar.
Hundreds of Congress workers allegedly clashed with the police and broke through barricades after they were stopped outside Guwahati, setting off a bitter war of words between chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and Gandhi, who is leading the 6,600km march.
Kumar said that the success of last year’s Bharat Jodo Yatra had troubled the government, causing them to “interfere” in the current Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra. “When the nation’s farmers, youth, labourers and women are not safe, what use do we have of safety? Our own safety is being used as an excuse to stop our Yatra,” he said.
“Many of this country’s chief ministers are ready to fall to any level of appeasement to please Delhi. And the consequence is that every time, an attempt is made to stop the Yatra with some or other excuse, fake cases are filed. [..] We want to tell the government that we will not be troubled by your fake FIRs,” he said.
Ahead of the Yatra’s Assam leg, chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had warned of “legal action”. Following Tuesday’s incident, Sarma said that a first information report (FIR) would be registered against Gandhi and other Congress leaders for “wanton acts of violence, provocation, damage to public property and assault on police personnel”.
Following the incidents, the Assam police on Tuesday booked Gandhi, Kumar and Congress leader KC Venugopal on charges of violence, provocation, damage to public property and assault on police personnel.
The acts of violence allegedly took place during a face-off between party workers and the police as the Yatra attempted to enter Guwahati. Sarma has previously claimed that Gandhi will be arrested after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Kumar also accused the BJP-led government of “standing with injustice”, as the Yatra was repeatedly stopped or diverted on account of law and order concerns, but programmes of the BJP leaders such as JP Nadda would be easily allowed to pass through the same routes.
Kumar also said that Gandhi’s “five pillars of justice”—justice through representation, justice for women, justice for the youth, justice for farmers and justice for labourers—would strengthen the country and create an egalitarian society.
Also Read: Rahul Gandhi dares Assam Police to file more FIRs: ‘Won’t be intimidated’
Reiterating the Congress’s demand for a nationwide caste census, Kumar said, “We are emphasising– count everyone, stop casteism, unite India. Everyone should be counted. Their social, economic and political status should be surveyed.”
“You all know that the census that should be conducted every 10 years has also not taken place. It was to be conducted in 2021 but did not happen. The results of the economic survey that took place in 2011 have also not been released by the government,” he added.
The Congress party has said again and again that the people’s representation must be ensured, whether that is in the job, economic, social or political sector, said Kumar.
He claimed that unemployment in the country is greater today than it has been in 45 years and that thousands of positions in the public sector were lying vacant. “Providing justice to the youth involves filling these vacancies. And we often hear that in filling vacancies, papers are leaked. Such administrative errors must be stopped,” he said.
Justice for women would mean safety within the home and outside it, in workplaces, roads, trains, farms and more, allowing women to live lives of freedom and realise their rights.
On the issue of labourers, Kumar said that labour laws regarding the minimum wage and overtime pay had not been enforced, and the right to unionise had been eroded.
