Bharat Jodo Yatra introduced idea of ​​love in politics: Rahul Gandhi in Texas | Mint

Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said the Bharat Jodo Yatra introduced the idea of ​​love in politics. Gandhi was interacting with students at the University of Texas in Dallas, US on September 9.

“The Reason [behind conducting Bharat Jodo Yatra] “All channels of communication in India have been blocked. Whatever we did was blocked. We spoke in Parliament. It was not shown on TV. We go to the media, they don’t listen to us. We also take documents to the legal system, but nothing happens. So all channels have been blocked for us,” Rahul Gandhi said during a talk at the University of Texas, where he is on a three-day US tour.

“And for a long time we couldn’t figure out how to communicate. And then suddenly this idea came to us… what better way than to walk across the country? And that’s what we did…,” he said.

Rahul Gandhi led two marches under the Bharat Jodo Yatra. The first edition, called the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’, began on September 7, 2022 from Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu in the south and ended on January 31, 2023 in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir in the north after covering a distance of 4080 km through 12 states.

The second edition – East to West Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra will commence on January 14, 2024 from Thoubal in Manipur and cover a distance of 6713 kms through 15 states and conclude in Mumbai on March 16, 2024 – four days ahead of the scheduled last date of March 20.

“But it has been surprisingly easy. And it has fundamentally changed the way I think about my work… It has completely changed the way I look at politics, how I look at my people, how I communicate, how I listen. For me, the most powerful thing that happened naturally was that we introduced, certainly for the first time in India, probably for the first time in many countries, the idea of ​​‘love’ in politics. And it’s strange… because… [in] “In political discourse in most countries you will never find the word ‘love’… you will find hatred, anger, injustice, corruption… and the Bharat Jodo Yatra has actually introduced that idea into the Indian political system and I am amazed at how this idea is working,” Gandhi told the students.

The Congress leader also said that India has to think about the function of production and the organisation of production. “India has to think about the function of production and the organisation of production. It is not acceptable for India to simply say that manufacturing or production will be reserved for the Chinese… or the Vietnamese… or the Bangladeshis. Bangladesh is way ahead of us in the textile industry, despite the problems they are facing right now… We have to rethink the way we produce in a democratic environment. Unless we do that, we will face high levels of unemployment,” he said.

Talking about the problems faced by the youth due to unemployment, the MP from Rae Bareli said jobs are created due to production. But India organises consumption, which is a cause of concern.

“If you look at the United States in the 1940s, ’50s and ’60s, they were the center of global production,” Gandhi said.

“Everything that was made – cars, washing machines, televisions – was all made in the United States. Production was moved from the United States… [then] For Korea, [from there] It went to Japan. Eventually it went to China… China dominates global production. [In] India, phones… furniture… clothes, [most are] Made in China. This is a fact. The West, America, Europe, India have given up the idea of ​​production and they have handed it over to China. The act of production creates employment. What we do, the Americans do, the West does, is to organise consumption. Uber, Foxconn, Mahindra, Bajaj organise production. These are the people who create employment…,” Gandhi said.