Opposition voices unite at mega Mumbai rally as Rahul concludes Yatra

Several Opposition leaders targeted the ruling BJP from one platform on Sunday (March 17), with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi stressing that he was compelled to launch his Bharat Jodo yatras to highlight rising unemployment, inflation, and hatred in society.

Rahul concluded his 63-day-old Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Mumbai by paying tributes to Dr BR Ambedkar at his memorial Chaityabhoomi in central Mumbai and reading the Preamble of the Constitution.

The yatra, which commenced from strife-torn Manipur on January 14, entered Mumbai from neighbouring Thane on the 63rd day on Saturday. The former Congress president was accompanied by his sister and party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

“Modi is a mask”

In a show of strength, leaders of the INDIA (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance) bloc assembled in Mumbai on Sunday for the mega rally ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, which will be held in seven phases starting April 19.

Addressing the rally at Mumbai’s Shivaji Park after the conclusion of his yatra, Rahul said Prime Minister Narendra Modi won’t be able to win the Lok Sabha elections without “EVMs, ED, CBI and Income Tax”.

“Modi is a ‘mask’ that works for a ‘shakti’ (power). He is a shallow man who doesn’t have a 56-inch chest,” Rahul said.

Engineering splits

The former Congress president alleged that PM Modi had a “monopoly over corruption”. “Do you think the Shiv Sena and NCP split and one faction joined the ruling alliance just like that?” he remarked.

While Eknath Shinde led a split in the Shiv Sena in 2022 and aligned with the BJP to become the Maharashtra chief minister, Ajit Pawar triggered a similar upheaval in the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) last year.

Rahul also claimed that a leader from Maharashtra cried in front of his mother Sonia Gandhi, saying he felt ashamed that he could not “fight this power anymore and didn’t want to go to jail”.

“Dharavi can be a Shenzhen”

He claimed that Modi can’t win elections “without EVMs (electronic voting machines)”. “We asked the Election Commission of India to count the VVPAT (Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail) also. But our demand hasn’t been accepted,” he said.

The Congress MP from Wayanad said Mumbai’s Dharavi could compete with the Chinese city of Shenzhen and become a manufacturing hub, but the government was not letting it happen, referring to the plan to redevelop the slum sprawl.

“Can be last polls in country”

The INDIA bloc leaders appealed to people to exercise their franchise cautiously saying a third term for PM Modi will ensure that the upcoming Lok Sabha polls will be the last elections in the country. They said the BJP wants over 400 seats to change the Constitution.

Modi’s guarantee is for the rich, while the opposition grouping’s guarantee is for the common man, said Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge. “I must tell Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray that those who left them shouldn’t be taken back,” he said, adding that such people will want to return to the INDIA fold when it comes to power.

Kharge asked people to vote in large numbers and cast their ballot cautiously, claiming that “another term for Modi will mean the upcoming polls will be the last elections in the country”.

“Modi’s Guarantee has no security”

Mahatma Gandhi gave “Quit India” call from Mumbai; INDIA leaders should vow here to oust BJP from power, said NCP founder Sharad Pawar in his address.

“BJP has never fulfilled the assurances given to the people. Those who don’t honour commitments should be thrown out of power. ‘Modi’s Guarantee’ has no security,” he said.

Ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, the BJP has been using “Modi ki Guarantee” as a key campaign slogan to stress the party’s commitment to the development of all sections of society.

“Not ‘Bharat sarkar’, it’s ‘Modi sarkar’”

Former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, who heads the Shiv Sena (UBT) said, “When people unite, dictatorship ends. A country shouldn’t be known after an individual. But now, instead of Bharat Sarkar, it is being called Modi Sarkar. Do you want to change the country’s name? It is time to banish the BJP and protect the Constitution.”

He said the BJP wants to win 400 Lok Sabha seats as it “wants to change the Constitution”. He also called the BJP a bubble and said his party inflated it, referring to its alliance with the undivided Shiv Sena for decades until a few years ago.

“Fight against hate”

Speaking at the rally, Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav said governments are being toppled with the help of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

“Our fight is against the ideology of hate, not personally against PM Modi or (Union Home Minister) Amit Shah,” said the former Bihar deputy chief minister.

PDP president and former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti said BJP people are afraid of “Gandhi” in Rahul Gandhi’s name. “BJP speaks of winning more than 400 Lok Sabha seats to change the Constitution,” she said.

“White-collar corruption”

Former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren’s wife Kalpana Soren also spoke at the event. She said her husband was jailed as part of a conspiracy. ED has arrested Hemant Soren in a money-laundering case.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin described the electoral bonds as “white-collar corruption” of the ruling BJP and said their alliance would form a secular, federal and inclusive government at the Centre. He was the first speaker at the rally.

“You need to fight”

Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) chief and Dr BR Ambedkar’s grandson Prakash Ambedkar attended the rally but did not categorically spell out if he was a part of the opposition alliance.

“Whether together or alone, you need to fight. Bengal has gone separate ways. Here, there are attempts to come together,” he said, referring to Trinamool Congress head Mamata Banerjee’s decision to go solo in West Bengal in the general elections.

Akhilesh’s message

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav was scheduled to take part in the event too. However, he did not attend it citing a busy schedule owing to the elections. In a social media post, he congratulated Rahul for his “strong determination” and described him as a “rare person”.

In a post on X in Hindi, Akhilesh Yadav said, “Congratulations on the successful completion of Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Mumbai! Due to the sudden announcement of elections and owing to a busy schedule, we announce from here that all of us who want the unity and progress of the country. This time, we, with the support of like-minded patriotic parties, with full mutual cooperation and the support of the cordial people of the country, will defeat the BJP in a historic way. We will defeat the BJP, make India win! The BJP will lose, the countrymen will win! Remove the BJP, save the country! Remove the BJP, get a job! Remove the BJP, save the Constitution! Remove the BJP, save reservation!”

“BJP’s defeat will be success of yatra”

In a letter dated March 17 written to Rahul, the SP chief said, “Today your Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra is concluding in Mumbai. Rare are those people who can take out such ‘yatras’. Heartiest congratulations to you for your strong determination.

“You started this yatra from Manipur, which is burning due to the failure of the BJP government. You have given a strong message against the dictator government from the north-east. During the course of the entire yatra, you met (people from) all the sections of the society, including farmers, youngsters, women, elderly, and you got acquainted with their problems very closely,” Yadav said.

“Not only hopeful, but I am fully confident that the public will uproot and throw out the BJP, which is against the farmers, youngsters, backwards, Dalits, and women. The real success of the yatra will be that the BJP gets defeated in these elections,” Yadav said.

Seat-sharing

On February 21, INDIA bloc partners SP and Congress announced a tie-up for the Lok Sabha polls in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, with the UP’s main opposition party leaving 17 out of the 80 seats in the state for the ally.

In Madhya Pradesh, the Samajwadi Party will contest a single seat, Khajuraho, and support the Congress in the remaining constituencies in the state.

Among the 17 seats on which the Congress will contest in UP include Rae Bareli and Amethi, once considered pocket boroughs of the party, and Varanasi which is Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s constituency.

(With agency inputs)