Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Friday said that the media, constitutional institutions and other agencies have shut their doors for the Opposition, The Indian Express reported.
“Entire control is lying with the [central] government,” he said as the Congress’ Bharat Jodo Yatra entered Karnataka. “If we speak in Parliament, they shut our microphones. [But] Nobody can stop this foot march.”
The Congress’ Bharat Jodo Yatra is a 3,570-kilometre-long nationwide tour that will cover 12 states and two Union Territories in about five months.
The party has described the march as its biggest mass contact exercise since independence and a “turning point” in India’s political history ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in 2024. The march was launched from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu on September 8.
Gandhi will cover a distance of 511 km in eight districts of Karnataka over 21 days, The Indian Express reported. On the first day, he will interact with members of the Soliga tribal community and families of victims who died due to oxygen shortages during the Covid-19 pandemic.
As he entered Karnataka, the Wayanad MP said that the media does not report on the pains and sorrow of the citizens as it is controlled by the government, Deccan Herald reported.
The Bharatiya Janata Party and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh are spreading hate and coming to power by dividing people, he alleged.
Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly Siddaramaiah, who was also present at the event, said that the residents of the state are aware that the state government likes taking a 40% commission from public work, The Indian Express reported.
This was a reference to allegations of corruption levelled against the state government by the Karnataka State Contractors Association. Last month, the contractors association said that they were paying bribes of up to 40% of the project value to government officials to secure contracts.
Siddaramaiah also accused BJP members of defacing posters about the Bharat Jodo Yatra, and claimed that the party was unable to appreciate the success of the march.
“I want to warn them that if they continue to do so, it will be difficult for any BJP leader to move around the state,” he said.
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