Andhra Pradesh has proved to be a surprise for Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra team. In a state where it does not have a single elected representative, the yatris were welcomed with ‘harathi’ and warmth, as many more flocked to join the walkathon.
The yatra entered the state through Kurnool on Tuesday and walked through Aluru. On Wednesday, they reached Adoni and Gandhi held a press conference at the Arts & Science College there.
Speaking to News18, Mathew Antony, president of All India Professionals’ Congress (Maharashtra), and the AICC media and communications incharge of Bharat Jodo Yatra in Andhra Pradesh, who is walking with Gandhi, said: “We are taken aback by the overwhelming response that we are receiving from the locals here. I coordinated the Andhra leg of the yatra and I did not have high expectations as our party does not have any presence here. However, thousands are walking with us right now, braving the rain. There has been a consistent organic response from all the villages we have visited so far. It is evident that despite recent developments, people’s goodwill towards Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi is still undiminished.”
The state is known to have a strong sentiment against the Congress as the party passed the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill in 2014 that it into Telangana and residual AP. Andhra is still trying to recover from the pangs of division. Jagan Mohan Reddy, who is the present chief minister of AP, is the son of YS Rajasekhara Reddy, who was a tall Congress leader and the former CM of undivided AP. After the bifurcation, Congress was decimated in the residual state. In this scenario, the Bharat Jodo Yatra team has found the support of the locals refreshing.
“We have not faced any resistance from the people so far. However, the state government has been trying to make our path difficult. It has been preventing Congress workers and media persons from joining the yatra by erecting barricades on our way,” said Gaurav Pandhi, a Congress leader who has been part of the yatra since the beginning.
During the press conference, Rahul Gandhi touched on issues like the Polavaram project and Special Category Status, and backed Amaravati as the only capital in Andhra Pradesh. “We are committed to completing the Polavaram project and providing oustees the right compensation. We also promise Special Category Status to Andhra Pradesh. At a time when the state government wants to develop three capitals for Andhra Pradesh, we want to develop only one capital in Amaravati,” said Gandhi, replying to questions asked by journalists.
Responding to a question, Gandhi said that the Bharatiya Janata Party has destroyed the economy of the country through demonetisation and GST. “Most of the jobs in India are created by small businesses and the agrarian sector. BJP has broken the back of these two sectors through its policies. It has introduced a five-layer GST which is not followed anywhere in the world. They did not consult the states before introducing it. The Congress promises a GST that will be introduced after talking to all stakeholders,” added Gandhi.
After the press meet, the yatra, going towards Yemmiganur, took shelter in a tent due to heavy rainfall. They will be in AP till October 21 and cover 119 km in the process. They will re-enter Karnataka on October 22 and reach Telangana on 23. After a Diwali break of three days, the yatra will be resumed in Telangana on October 27.
Commenting on how they got used to walking 20-25 km a day, Gaurav said: “In the initial days, our tents would look like a casualty ward at the end of the day with people reeling under heat exhaustion or blisters on feet. But we have grown accustomed to it by now. We also appreciate that these small challenges we are facing are nothing compared to the hardships faced by thousands of workers who had to walk to their homes after the sudden lockdown.”
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