
From Rahul’s ‘simple’ style statement, White T-Shirt is now a movement
The WTM, through a subsidiary programme called “Saathi Haath Badhana”, will also include “political apprenticeship programmes” designed for youth
On June 19 last year, as he turned 54, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi explained why he cast aside the white kurta-pyjamas, the signature clothing of Indian politicians, for the white T-shirt. The white tee, Rahul had said, symbolised for him “transparency, solidity and simplicity”.
Seven months on, as he continues to try novel ways to reach out to his countrymen — armed with the Constitution and undertaking multiple yatras — in a bid to revive an electorally struggling Congress, Rahul wants the white T-shirt to mean much more than his individual style statement.
Asserting that the white T-shirt signifies “compassion, unity, non-violence, equality and progress for all”, the Congress leader, on Sunday (January 19), announced his party’s latest outreach programme — the White T-shirt Movement (WTM).
White T-shirt Movement
Accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government of working only for a few capitalists and turning its back on the poor and working class, Rahul said inequality was on a steady rise in the country and the condition of the working class, which faces “injustice and atrocities of different kinds”, was “going from bad to worse”.
“It is our collective responsibility to raise our voice for justice and rights. With this vision, we are starting the White T-shirt Movement. I appeal to the youth and working class to participate in this movement in huge numbers,” Rahul wrote on X.
The Congress has also launched a website, whitetshirt.in, giving details about the WTM to facilitate people who wish to join the “movement”. Though the party is yet to officially announce the details of the programme, the website says those who become part of the WTM would work to “bridge divides and build a cohesive, equitable nation”.
Also read: Rahul launches 'White T-shirt movement'; calls for just, unified India
Outreach campaign aimed at “invisible” masses
Congress sources told The Federal that the party’s frontal organisations, the Indian Youth Congress (IYC) and the All India Professionals Congress (AIPC), would be closely involved in the WTM rollout.
The outreach campaign, a party leader privy to the campaign said, would also work as an extension of Rahul’s ongoing efforts to “engage with workers employed in the informal sector, the gig economy, the labour class and also the unemployed youth, who have been invisibilised by the political system and especially the Modi government and are struggling to make ends meet”.
Engaging with people from these walks of life has been on Rahul’s agenda ever since the Bharat Jodo Yatra (BJY). Through the course of the BJY, the subsequent Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra and beyond, Rahul’s public engagements have routinely featured visits to and interactions with farmers, gig economy workers, construction workers, daily wage labourers, civil services aspirants and others.
Last week, the Congress leader paid a visit to Delhi’s AIIMS Metro station and interacted with people who come to the hospital from across the country for treatment and, due to lack of financial resources, are forced to live on the pavements and underpasses outside the premier institute waiting their turns to see a doctor.
Awareness about challenges of working classes
The WTM, former IYC chief Srinivas BV told The Federal, is meant to “create awareness about the challenges that the poor and working classes face today due to the Modi government’s pro-rich policies and also to engage with the youth who are either jobless due to lack of employment opportunities or are forced to take up jobs that do not do justice to their educational qualifications and talent”.
“It is also Rahul Gandhi’s answer to the BJP and other critics who keep accusing him of practising negative politics because, with the WTM, Rahul will show that even though he is not in power, he is doing what actually the government should do for the people,” Srinivas added.
Also read: 'F-word' strategy? What drove Rahul to dub Bihar’s caste survey as fake
“Saathi Haath Badhana”
The WTM, through a subsidiary programme called “Saathi Haath Badhana”, will also include “political apprenticeship programmes” designed for youth aged between 18 and 25 years “from any academic background”.
“The apprenticeship will be a paid one and anyone in the 18-to-25 age group can apply for it from anywhere in the country. Of course, while applications can be made from all over the country, the job locations will be limited to some cities,” All India Professionals Congress chief Praveen Chakravarty told The Federal.
Though Chakravarty did not divulge the details of how much an intern would be paid or what kind of work the apprenticeship would offer, saying only that they were “working on various ideas and formats”, he said the basic idea of the WTM has “come from our 2024 Lok Sabha election manifesto in which the Congress had promised a Right to Apprenticeship law”.
Promise of “Right to Apprenticeship”
The AIPC chief added that though the Congress lost the Lok Sabha polls, the WTM was Rahul’s way of asserting his commitment to the promise of a “Right to Apprenticeship” law as well as to his unwavering support for “the poor, marginalised and working classes”.
“Engaging with platform or gig workers, creating awareness about their problems and their rights would be part of the apprenticeship we will offer... The Congress had brought a law in Rajasthan and Telangana to guarantee the rights of gig workers; we are working on a similar legislation in Karnataka too. The WTM is another way of reasserting our commitment to these people and to everyone else who is struggling due to the unemployment crisis created by the Modi government,” Chakravarty added.