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Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of spreading communal hatred across the country to divert the attention of people from real issues and use it as a "weapon" to destroy the poor, as his Bharat Jodo Yatra reached the national capital on Saturday.
Addressing a rally outside the Red Fort in New Delhi, Gandhi said he did not witness violence or hatred anywhere in the country while walking hundreds of kilometres from Kanyakumari to Delhi and his Yatra was a true reflection of India, but he sees hatred being spread on television all the time at the behest of the powers controlling the media.
"Even dogs, cows, buffaloes, pigs entered the Yatra, but no one attacked them. There is no hatred, violence during the Yatra. If anyone fell, people picked them up in a second. This is real India," he noted.
The former Congress chief attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, alleging they spent thousands of crores of rupees to destroy his image, but he has shown the truth to the country in just a month.
Gandhi thanked people for the love and support showered on him so far during the Bharat Jodo Yatra, which entered its 108th day on Saturday and will resume on January 3 after a nine-day break.
Hatred in the name of Hindu-Muslim is being spread through television 24x7 to divert the attention of people from the real issues, he alleged.
"When we started this yatra from Kanyakumari, we started with the aim of uniting people and ending nafrat (hatred). I felt there was hatred spread everywhere but when I started walking I realised the truth was otherwise.
"TV channels are spreading hatred and doing Hindu-Muslim, Hindu-Muslim all the time, 24 hours. But, this is not true as this is spread in the media. This country is one and everyone loves each other and embraces each other, there is no hatred," he told a big gathering at the Red Fort.
"The media never talks about love. There is a reason behind this as this is being done to divert your attention. They do this Hindu-Muslim 24 hours on television, to take away your money and hand it over and sell all your ports, airports, roads and other assets to their crony friends," he said.
"This is not a Narendra Modi government, it is the Ambani-Adani government," Gandhi alleged as the audience clapped.
The Congress leader said he has traversed across the country, "but I have not seen violence, hatred anywhere. But I see it on television all the time."
He also claimed that 90 percent of Indians love and respect each other and there is no hatred and this has been the truth for ages.
Gandhi said the BJP has raised the issue of religion and asked where was it written in the Hindu religion "to crush the poor and weak people" as he has not read this anywhere in the Gita or the Upanishads.
He said, "These people are spreading fear among farmers, youth, small shopkeepers, women, and small and medium businessmen.
"But, Shiv ji has said 'Daro mat'. Hindu religion says 'Daro mat' but these people are 24 hours trying to spread fear in the country," he said.
The Congress leader said when he entered politics in 2004, the media praised him but turned against him after he raised the issue of farmers' land in Bhatta Parsaul.
"Thousands of crores are being given to big industrialists but not to common people. These are not policies, but weapons to destroy small businessmen, traders, farmers," he said.
Gandhi said the Bharat Jodo Yatra aims at uniting India and will spread awareness against price rise, unemployment, communal hatred and violence.
He alleged that everything including airports and ports belongs to crony businessmen and one day "even the Taj Mahal will be handed over'' to them.
"The prime minister and the BJP spent thousands of crores to destroy my image, but I did not utter a word and remained silent. They went after me on WhatsApp0 and Facebook, but I still did not say anything.
"Then I showed you the truth for one month and the entire thing finished. See how truth works. The truth cannot be hidden, it comes out," Gandhi claimed.
Talking about China, he claimed it has "taken away 2000 square km of our land, but the prime minister says no one has come into our border.
"If no one has come, why are we talking to China 21 times? Why are our troops saying China has taken away our land."
"The battle is of the truth between India and China. The issue is economic. You will see most products available in India as made in China. We have to see Made in India behind all our products here and a time should come when in Shanghai people get products made in India, Delhi.
We want such an India and we will have to do this and this country can achieve this," he said.
Gandhi wrapped up his speech with a flying kiss to his supporters while thanking them for showering so much love on him.
"I had said in Rajasthan in my speech, in this market of hatred, we will open shops to spread love. You have opened lakhs of shops for spreading love," he said.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and former party chief Sonia Gandhi were present during his speech outside the Red Fort.
Kharge alleged that the government is dividing society on the basis of religion and is throttling the freedom of speech and expression.
Actor-turned-politician Kamal Hassan also attended the rally and joined the yatra from the ITO. He later said there is no politics behind his visit as he heard his inner voice to save India from hatred to come here.
"This yatra is not for any political aim, but raises its voice against unemployment, price rise, China's attack on India and against the hatred being spread in the country," he said.
He also accused the prime minister of not wearing masks himself and of trying to stall the Yatra on the pretext of Covid.
The yatra which started from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu on September 7 has traversed nine states so far and is set to culminate in Jammu and Kashmir by the end of January.
It has covered around 3,000 km in 46 districts across Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Telengana, Andra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Haryana.
The Yatra will take a nine-day winter break and restart on January 3 for its onward journey to Jammu and Kashmir, after passing through Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab.