“We Were Forced Politically To Take Up Yatra…”: Rahul Gandhi In US

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi recently spoke at the National Press Club in Washington DC, where he discussed the reasons behind the Bharat Jodo Yatra and Nyay Yatra. According to Gandhi, the party was compelled to undertake these yatras due to the failure of democratic instruments in India.

Gandhi stated that the Bharat Jodo Yatra and Nyay Yatra were the only means to connect with the people of India, as the media, courts, and other democratic institutions were not functioning effectively. He said, “We were forced politically to take out the Yatra because all the instruments that normally work in a democracy, they just were not working….The media was not working, the courts were not working…nothing was working so we said, okay, let’s go direct. We went and it worked…It worked beautifully.”

The Congress leader also noted that Indian politics changed in 2014, during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first term. He said, “I think politics in India changed in 2014. We entered a phase of politics we never saw before. Aggressive, attacking the foundations of our democratic structures. It’s been a tough fight. And personally, it changed me.”

Gandhi further explained the difference between the two yatras, saying, “One march was on foot, and the other was by car. One went from South India all the way to Kashmir- that was by foot… [which was] 4,000km. Other one was from Manipur which, as you know, is burning to Maharashtra.”

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— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) September 10, 2024