New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said there was a huge undercurrent against the BJP across the country and urged the opposition to unite to present an alternative vision to the people.
Addressing a press conference here, Gandhi said the Bharat Jodo Yatra provided a framework to present a new way of working and thinking to the people.
Gandhi also sought mutual respect between opposition leaders and the Congress in taking on the BJP, which has been completely dominating the country's political space.
"If the opposition stands effectively with a vision, it will become very difficult for the BJP to win elections. But the opposition has to coordinate effectively and the opposition has to go to the people with an alternative vision," Gandhi said.
Spelling out his vision, Gandhi said India should emerge as a "production nation" instead of a "rent-seeking" nation. It should have an education policy that allowed children to give wings to their imagination and look beyond careers in medicine, engineering, civil services and law, he added.
He also spoke about a clear foreign policy, unlike a "confused" policy pursued by the government, and greater economic equality.
Gandhi said he was in favour of large businesses as they had a central role in the economy, but the same should not be controlled by "two-three persons".
Rahul Gandhi said he considers the Bharatiya Janata Party as his "guru" (teacher) as the BJP shows him a roadmap and teaches him "what should never be done".
"I want them (BJP) to attack us aggressively, this will help Congress party understand its ideology. I consider them (BJP) as my Guru, they are showing me the way and training me on what is not to be done," he said.
While talking about the Bharat Jodo Yatra which entered New Delhi on December 24 before taking a nine-day break, he said, "When I started this, I just took it as an ordinary yatra from Kanyakumari to Kashmir. Slowly we understood that this yatra has a voice & feelings."
"The doors of Bharat Jodo Yatra are open for everyone, we are not going to stop anyone from joining us. Akhilesh ji, Mayawati ji and others want "Mohabbat ka Hindustan"," he said in an open invite to the other parties of the opposition ahead of the 2024 general elections.
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi's mass contacting campaign, Bharat Jodo Yatra, was issued cautionary notes by the Centre amid a rise in COVID-19 cases across neighbouring countries.
So far, the Yatra, which started from Kanyakumari on September 7, has covered parts of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Maharashtra and Haryana.
It is the longest march on foot by any Indian politician in the history of India, the Congress has claimed.
With this yatra, Rahul Gandhi aims to mobilise the party cadre and unite the general public against the BJP's "divisive politics in the country".
