Siliguri, January 28: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi today said that injustice leads to anger, hatred and violence. He said, no country can progress with hatred and violence.
Addressing a public gathering on the fifteenth day of the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra he is leading, here today, Gandhi called upon the people of Bengal to come forward and provide intellectual leadership to the country the way they had provided during the freedom struggle to fight hatred and unite the country.
The Congress leader called for unity among people to fight the forces who are bent upon making people of one religion fight against another religion, people speaking one language against those speaking a different language or from one state against the other state.
Speaking about the distress and despair among the youth, Gandhi said, if the dreams and aspirations of the youth cannot be fulfilled, it can lead to anger, hatred and violence. That is why, he added, it is important to provide justice to youth. He asked if a mechanic can aspire to produce and manufacture cars in Japan, why can’t it happen in India.
The former Congress president alleged that the current government in the country was working for a few big industrialists only. He told the gathering that they must have seen it themselves that it is one single person who owns the ports, the airport, mining, infrastructure and other things.
Gandhi criticized the BJP government for introducing the Agnipath scheme. He said, earlier, the youth would aspire to join the defence forces, which ensured their permanent jobs and welfare. Even if somebody sacrificed his life for the country, his family would be taken care of.
But, he said, now after the introduction of the Agnipath scheme, there is no such guarantee. He said, of all those recruited in the defence service under Agnipath scheme, 75 percent will be sent back home within four years.
Gandhi also referred to about 1.5 lakh youth who had been selected for the defence service before the Agnipath scheme was launched. They were not let to join the service after the Agnipath scheme was launched. He said, this was grave injustice with them.
In a special mention about the people of Bengal, Gandhi said, Bengal was a special place and he felt happy to be here. He pointed out, the people of Bengal had provided intellectual leadership to freedom struggle. He said, Bengal had produced great thinkers and leaders like Rabindranath Tagore, Subash Chandra Bose, Swami Vivekanand, to name just a few.
He told the people of Bengal that they had the capability to show the path and if they did not do it, country will not forgive them. He said, the people of Bengal have a duty to fight against the hatred and unite the country. He said, with the intellectual power and strength the people of Bengal possess, they have to fight the hatred and unite the country. He said, he had come to convey this message.