Congress leader Rahul Gandhi continued his tirade against billionaire industrialist Gautam Adani during his visit to Dharavi, one of the largest slum clusters in the world, on Saturday.
He underscored the significance of Dharavi’s residents, affirming, “Desh dalal nahi, Dharavi ke log banate hai [the nation is shaped by the people of Dharavi, not by brokers].”
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra joined the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra led by her brother on the final day, as it made its way to Dharavi before it concluded at Dadar’s Chaityabhoomi, the memorial of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. The 6,000 kilometre long yatra, which began from the conflict-ridden Manipur on January 14, entered Mumbai on Saturday after covering 110 districts in 16 States in 63 days. In its last leg, the yatra crossed into Maharashtra from neighbouring Gujarat on March 12 and passed through Nandurbar, Dhule, Malegaon, Nashik, Palghar, and Thane before it reached the country’s financial capital.
Dharavi should be India’s manufacturing capital, he said and added, “It’s the talent capital of the country and your skills should be supported. The banks should give you loans. But, the dalal [Mr. Adani] is snatching your land, and the Prime Minister [Narendra Modi] is backing him. This land belongs to you. This land was yours and will continue to be yours.”
Dharavi is the true embodiment of Make in India and they are being looted round-the-clock by the current government, he stated. “The fight is between talent and dalal; Dharavi and Adani,” the Congress leader said. The slum, home to nearly 58,000 families who migrated to Mumbai from across the subcontinent over the decades, will be redeveloped by the Adani Group after it won the tender in November 2022.
Expressing dissatisfaction with the police conduct, he said, “This is not Mr. Modi’s rally; it’s mine. So, refrain from pushing the people.”
Accompanied by AICC general secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal, State in-charge Ramesh Chennithala, and Dharavi MLA Varsha Gaikwad, the Wayanad MP lashed out at the Enforcement Directorate, terming it an “extortion directorate”.
While speaking at Jambhali Naka in Thane, Mr. Gandhi continued his criticism of the Prime Minister Modi-led Central government, denouncing the electoral bonds scheme as a tool for extortion, aimed at destabilising governments and fracturing political parties. He highlighted the lack of representation for marginalised communities in government and private sectors, alleging that over 50 lakh people died of COVID-19 in India during the pandemic. Mr. Gandhi also criticised the Serum Institute of India for allegedly donating to PM Modi through electoral bonds during the crisis.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis hit back at Congress leader for criticising the BJP over the electoral bonds scheme and asked whether his party would return the bonds that it has received.
On Sunday morning, Mr. Gandhi will undertake a ‘Nyay Sankalp Padyatra’ from Mani Bhavan to August Kranti Maidan. Later, Opposition leaders, including National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, his Jharkhand counterpart Champai Soren, RJD leader Akhilesh Yadav, would attend the public rally at Shivaji Park here.
