PEDDAPUR: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said that Bharat Jodo Yatra was aimed to free India from the shackles of unemployment, inflation and the hatred spread by the RSS and the BJP.
“Every youngster complained about unemployment during my yatra and blamed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao for destroying job opportunities. I heard the pathetic tales of farmers, youth, workers and others,” Rahul Gandhi said at Peddapur crossroads in Medak district.
Resuming the walkathon on Saturday after a day’s rest, the Congress MP said that unemployment and price rise had been increasing at an alarming pace since 2014. The sorry situation is unprecedented, he said.
The farming sector, small scale industries and petty businessmen provide many jobs, but demonetisation and a fake GST destroyed all those employment sources, he said. Rao ignored creation of employment and concentrated on land deals through Dharani portal, he criticised.
‘I get to meet many people and no one seems to be happy in Telangana. All sections are having one problem or the others’ he said.
The Modi government is privatising all PSUs. This will not be for the benefit of the people but for his chosen elite sections, he said, adding that Rao is emulating Modi in this regard.
A progressive farmer, Nagi Reddy, told the Congress leader that they would earlier would get 100 per cent subsidy on drip irrigation but now they have to pay more for urea, potash and other agricultural material.
“We are not getting any support from the Union and state governments,” he said.
Rahul Gandhi said that Rao and the state agriculture minister should learn from Nagi Reddy and listen to the problems of farmers and come to their aid.
“I met a lot of people like Nagi Reddy during the yatra,” he said.
Senior party leaders from the state A. Revanth Reddy, Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, N. Uttam Kumar Reddy, T. Jayaprakash Reddy, D. Sridhar Babu, T. Jeevan Reddy, C. Damodar Rajanarsimha and Mohd. Shabbir Ali, were present.
