India News | Congress Not Doing 'Bharat Jodo, but Goonda Jodo Yatra', Says Shehzad Poonawalla

New Delhi [India], September 16 (ANI): The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has raised serious questions on the ongoing Bharat Jodo Yatra under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi, calling it a goonda yatra.

Speaking to ANI today, BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said that the Congress party is engaging goons across the country in the name of Bharat Jodo Yatra.

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This statement came after a video surfaced of local Congress leaders allegedly extorting donations from a vegetable vendor in Kollam, Kerala.

He accused the Congress party of corruption and using public goods for filling their own pockets.

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"This is not Congress's India Jodo Yatra, but, Goonda Jodo, Recovery Jodo, and Corruption Jodo Yatra. The character of Congress has always been to put public goods in the pockets of the family. Whether it is in the National Herald, whether it is the Kollam incident, the entire media is showing how Congress goons extorted money from a poor vegetable seller. It also shows the character of Congress" said Poonawalla.

It is worth noting that during Congress's Bharat Jodo Yatra, allegations of extortion from shopkeepers have come to light by local leaders of the party in Kollam, Kerala, the video of which is also going viral. It is alleged that Congress leaders are extorting Rs 2,000 for the yatra and for this the shopkeepers are also being threatened.

Poonawalla alleged that on one hand this so-called yatra they say is for the poor and is being done against the challenges of economic problems.

"But, the Congress party has emerged as the biggest economic and political problem in this country in the last 70 years. That is why today this picture of collecting from the public has come to the fore. Instead of expressing regret over this, Congress leaders who are from Kerala are justifying it," he said.

Poonawalla further said, "I have also been told that some Congress leaders are trying to pressure the vegetable vendor to withdraw his statement and complaint in the affair of headline management. But, one thing is clear in the whole journey, somewhere they are adding hatred, and somewhere they are connecting the goons, who come down on extortion."

Taking a jibe at the party's Bharat Jodo Yatra, he added, "The Congress party's sole trait is robbing the nation's citizens of their possessions. If they act in this way when they are not in power, how will they act if they are given power and want to plunder the populace? This is widely known to the public. Therefore, even in Goa, they are advising to abandon the Congress".

It is worth mentioning that the Congress party has started a 150-day Bharat Jodo Yatra. It was started by Rahul Gandhi himself. (ANI)

(The above story is verified and authored by ANI staff, ANI is South Asia's leading multimedia news agency with over 100 bureaus in India, South Asia and across the globe. ANI brings the latest news on Politics and Current Affairs in India & around the World, Sports, Health, Fitness, Entertainment, & News. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)