The event saw several opposition leaders in attendance, including RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav, Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, Sharad Pawar, Farooq Abdullah, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Uddhav Thackeray, and Mehbooba Mufti.
Statements from leaders addressing the INDIA bloc rally
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi
Former Congress President Rahul Gandhi said he was compelled to launch Bharat Jodo yatras to address rising unemployment, inflation, and societal hatred.
Gandhi said there is a word ‘Shakti’ in Hinduism. We are fighting against a Shakti. The question is, what is that Shakti. The soul of the King is in the EVM. This true. The soul of the King in the EVM and every institution of the country, in ED, CBI and Income Tax department. A senior leader from Maharashtra left Congress and cried in from of my mother and said ‘Sonia ji, I am ashamed that I don’t have the power to fight this Shakti. I do not want to go to jail.’ Thousands of people have been threatened like this.”
Congress National President Mallikarjun Kharge
Mallikarjun Kharge said, “The ‘Shakti’ Rahul Gandhi was talking about, I will say openly that Modiji has this Shakti in the form of RSS and Manuvaad… They want to crush us using this Shakti…”
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Pawar said, “Mahatma Gandhi gave ‘Quit India’ slogan from this city, today we (INDIA alliance) should vow to oust BJP from power.”
Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin
Stalin said, ” We have entered politics to work for people…Rahul Gandhi has visited all over India to understand the heart of India. It is a journey to restore India that is destroyed by BJP.”
INDIA leaders unite
Former CM of Jammu and Kashmir Farooq Abdullah
National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah took a swipe saying the Election Commission will gain independence if the opposition bloc in INDIA forms the government. He urges citizens to “verify their vote on paper” and calls EVM a ‘thief’.
Abdullah said, “The first Bharat Jodo Yatra started from Kanniyakumari and ended in Kashmir. It was snowing in Kashmir and many of the members had never seen snow in their lives… This is our India… You have to protect your votes because the machine (EVM) is a thief. When you cast your vote, check the paper and verify your vote… When the INDIA Alliance will form the government, this machine will end. Secondly, the Election Commission will become independent.”
Former Bihar Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav
Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav said, “Modi is a manufacturer, wholesaler and distributor of lies, but truthful people like us are not scared,” he asserted, adding that those in the Maharashtra government are “dealers and not leaders”.
Yadav said, “He (Rahul Gandhi) has tried to deliver a message which is quite significant in today’s days…To save India’s Constitution, brotherhood and to defeat hatred, he commenced the ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’ and for that my heartfelt thanks to Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party.”
Former J&K Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Chief Mehbooba Mufti swiped at BJP saying, “You (Rahul Gandhi) have Gandhi in your name and the BJP is scared of it. Today, I can see people with different thoughts and ideas here, let me tell you this is ‘India.’ The election is all set to begin; the public has the most powerful weapon of the Constitution and that is the ‘vote.”
She also criticizes BJP’s ‘abki baar 400 paar’ slogan and said, “The BJP’s call to 400 seats is to change the Constitution”.
(With inputs from agencies)
