: Opinion: Why Bharat Jodo Yatra is not enough #IndiaNEWS #News By Arun Sinha Congress spokespersons would have us believe that the Bharat Jodo Yatra has unhinged the ‘hatemongers’. They cite RSS

Opinion: Why Bharat Jodo Yatra is not enough #IndiaNEWS #News
By Arun Sinha
Congress spokespersons would have us believe that the Bharat Jodo Yatra has unhinged the ‘hatemongers’. They cite RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s visit to a mosque and Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur’s denunciation of mainstream TV channels — ‘a part of their own hate machine’—for inviting panellists who “polarise and spread false narratives??? as proof of the yatra’s ‘love storm’ throwing them into a state of disconcertment. “They are making such moves just as we have begun,??? the spokespersons chuckle. “Let us see what they do by the time we finish. ???
You cannot blame Congresspersons for being joyous and excited about the Bharat Jodo Yatra. Their leader Rahul Gandhi has burst out of a three-year quasi-withdrawal, at last answering their prayers that seemed to be stretching, driving them into pessimism. In their ecstasy, they are seeing him as an Angel of Love who will bring an end to the ‘regime of hate’. An increasing number of liberals, including many who have been critics of the Congress, are also charmed and enthused by the Walking Gandhi who is hugging ordinary folks along the yatra.
Really? Will Rahul’s 3,500-km journey through 12 States trigger an earthquake that would turn Modi’s political edifice into rubble? The Congresspersons are fooling themselves.
Just A Yatra
First of all, it is a yatra. It is not a movement at the grassroots level. The yatris pass through towns or villages, talk to appointed local people at appointed places and move on. Except for making local party workers feel reanimated, little changes. It does not seriously affect the electoral matrix Modi’s BJP has built for itself in the past eight years.
Secondly, the call of the yatra — Indians of all castes and creeds, unite against divisive forces! — alone may not help the Congress win back the voters who have deserted it and migrated to the BJP under the Modi spell. The fight with Modi’s BJP is no longer simply love versus hate. It is far, far more complex.
True, Modi has infused an alarming amount of religion into politics. He frequently goes to Hindu temples. His government is openly partisan to the Hindu faith. It punishes Muslims and forgives Hindus for similar crimes. Muslims are subjected to violence and discrimination under his regime. Yet he wins. Why?
For, although liberals see Modi as the king of hatemongers, a large number of Hindu Indians do not see him that way. And they belong to a cross-section of society—lower castes, middle castes and upper castes. To them, he is a bringer of good things.

Stock Market NEWS Best intraday tips Intraday Stocks below 100