INDIA Bloc Leaders Grace Congress' Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra In Maharashtra

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday said he was compelled to launch his Bharat Jodo yatras to highlight rising unemployment, inflation and hatred in society. Addressing the opposition INDIA bloc rally at Mumbai's Shivaji Park after the conclusion of his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, Gandhi said Prime Minister Narendra Modi won't be able to win the Lok Sabha elections without "EVMs, ED, CBI and Income Tax". "Modi is a 'mask' who works for a 'shakti' (power).

He is a shallow man who doesn't have a 56-inch chest," Gandhi said. The former Congress president alleged that PM Modi had a "monopoly over corruption". "Do you think the Shiv Sena and NCP people split and joined the ruling alliance just like that," he asked.

While Eknath Shinde led a split in the Shiv Sena in 2022 and aligned with the BJP to become the Maharashtra chief minister, Ajit Pawar triggered a similar upheaval in the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) last year. Gandhi also claimed that a leader from Maharashtra cried in front of his mother Sonia Gandhi, saying he felt ashamed that he could not "fight this power any more and didn't want to go to jail".

He claimed Modi can't win elections "without EVMs (electronic voting machines)". "We asked the Election Commission of India to count the VVPAT (Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail) also. But our demand hasn't been accepted," he said.

In a show of strength, leaders of several constituents of the opposition INDIA (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance) grouping assembled here for the mega rally ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, which will be held in seven phases starting April 19.