Congress MP Rahul Gandhi who is in Assam’s Majuli on his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, said that while his party refers to tribals as ‘Adivasis’, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) limits them to being just ‘Vanvasis’.
Explaining the difference between the two, Rahul Gandhi said, “We call you Adivasi; they call you Vanvasi. Do you know the difference between the two? Adivasi means the first citizens, those who have come to the earth first. Vanvasi means those who stay in the forest.”
Rahul Gandhi said that while the BJP wants them to stay in the jungle and deprive their children of going to colleges and universities, the Congress wants to give back what has been wrongfully taken from them.
“BJP wants you to stay in the jungle. They do not want your children to go to colleges and universities, not to learn English, not to run businesses. We want to give back what has been taken from you. Your land, forest and water should be given back to you. This is why we brought upon laws and tribal bills to give back what is yours,” Rahul Gandhi said.
The Congress leader said despite a civil war-like situation in Manipur for months, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not yet visited the state.
“We started the Yatra from Manipur. The BJP has burnt down Manipur. For months a civil war like situation is going on in Manipur. People are killing each other and till today the Prime Minister has not visited Manipur,” Rahul Gandhi said.
Speaking about the failure to bring about the Naga Accord by the BJP government, Rahul Gandhi said, “In Nagaland, where we were yesterday, the Prime Minister had promised to bring about the Accord nine years back but he did not keep his word.”
“And here, you have India’s most corrupt Chief Minister,” he added referring to Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
The Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra led by Rahul Gandhi, rolled into Assam on Thursday. On the sixth day of his Yatra, Rahul crossed the Brahmaputra river by boat and headed for Majuli, an island in Assam, on Friday.
The party shared an image of Rahul, flanked by fellow Congress leaders and workers, sailing on a boat across the Brahmaputra on Friday.
Meanwhile, the Jorhat Police registered a case against a few people associated with the Congress’s ongoing Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra for alleged deviation from its original route.
