Mumbai: Taking the Gandhian approach to appeal to the Narendra Modi government against implementing the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC), senior leaders of Maharashtra launched a 'Gandhi Shanti Yatra' from the Gateway of India on Thursday.
Alongside political luminaries, hundreds of citizens gathered at the venue in support of the cause. Most of them were clad in white, to spread the message of peace.
Many of them were carrying the national flag and raised slogans like 'Hum Sab Ek Hain' and 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai'.
“The country has gone into the hands of divisive forces and now, it's time for us to resist, in keeping with the principles of Gandhiji,” said Mahesh Holkar, 35, a small business owner from Kalyan.
Drawing parallels to Gandhi's Quit India movement, Virar resident Sanjay Ingle, 50, said, “Just like Gandhiji drove out the British, it's time we dethrone the BJP. They have forgotten we are a democracy and not an authoritarian regime.”
The non-political action group, 'Rashtra Manch,' floated by former Union minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Yashwant Sinha had organised the rally, flagged off by Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar.
Originating from Mumbai, the protest rally will traverse 3,000 kilometres through Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, in the next three weeks, to conclude at Raj Ghat, New Delhi on January 30, which is the death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
“The BJP-led government is using dictatorial policies to suppress the voice of the nation and such autocracy must be met with Gandhiji's ahimsa,” said Pawar, ahead of the flagging off.
Labelling the violence on the students of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) as state-sponsored terrorism, the NCP chief stated, the government is using departments like Delhi Police for its own political gains.
“The Modi government has failed the people of India. Over the last one month, lakhs of people have taken to the streets but the government is using police to suppress their voice,” Pawar said.
“The government has created an environment of fear and security with the CAA and NRC. With this rally, we will reach out to those living in fear and assure them of our support. People are confused, hence we need Gandhian ideology to show them the way,” said Sinha.
The flagging-off ceremony saw the likes of renowned politicians like Congress leaders Shatrughan Sinha, Prithviraj Chavan and Ashish Deshmukh were also seen at the venue alongside NCP leader and state president Nawab Malik. Interestingly, the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) chief and leader of the Dalit community, Prakash Ambedkar too was in attendance.
Both Ambedkar and Pawar were engaged in a war of words in the campaigning for the state assembly polls in last October. Pawar had accused Ambedkar's VBA of being the BJP's B-team fielding candidates in the tribal-dominated constituencies of the state. The latter had hit back, saying the NCP chief was so afraid of them that he withdrew his candidature from Madha constituency.
Claiming it was his moral duty to be present at the rally, Ambedkar stated the BJP-led centre has compelled the citizens of the country to hit the streets to protect the Constitution.
“We are not here as politicians. The CAA and NRC are severe threats to the Constitution, so we have to go beyond party lines to oppose the contentious amendments and protect our constitutional rights,” said Ambedkar.
