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Journalism of Courage
Demonetisation was never about fighting black money but an attack on those who run small and medium scale industries as well as farmers, the effects of which are being faced by the poor even today, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said in Nanded while addressing a meeting as part of the party’s Bharat Jodo Yatra.
“It was this day six years ago when Modiji came on television and announced demonetisation and claimed that it was to fight black money. It was anything but that. It was an attack on small and medium industries and farmers… the effects of which are being faced even today by the poor,” he said.
Taking on the government over the farm loan waiver issue, Rahul said that instead of waiving farmers’ loan, the government is working for three corporates and waiving their loans. “I met a farmer today, who said that despite the government and farmers paying insurance premium, the real beneficiaries are two to three companies who are getting the premium and farmers are getting nothing,” he added.
Slamming the politics of hatred, Rahul said the manner in which a family will suffer when two brothers fight, the country too cannot progress if two communities continue to fight. “They (ruling party) instigate fights between communities, languages and religions. How can the country progress? And these people call themselves patriots.”
Rahul’s 150-day-long yatra, which started in Tamil Nadu’s Kanyakumari on September 7, on Monday evening entered Maharashtra, where he will cover 381 km in 14 days.
While leaders of ally NCP will join the yatra on November 10 at a public meeting in Nanded, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader Aaditya Thackeray is likely to join Rahul on November 11.
On Tuesday morning, Rahul resumed his foot march from a gurdwara at Degloor and halted at Bhopala village in Biloli tehsil, covering around 16 km.
Former Maharashtra chief ministers of Prithviraj Chavan and Sushil Kumar Shinde walked with Rahul on Tuesday. During the yatra, he interacted with several farmers, students, children and women and had his tea at a villager’s house in Bizuri in the evening. The yatra will resume from Naigaon on its 63rd day on Wednesday and proceed towards Vajirgaon Phata. So far, the yatra has covered 1,682 km.
