Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Congress on Friday suspended three party workers for allegedly threatening a vegetable shopkeeper in Kollam for not paying Rs 2,000 in fund collection for ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’.
“Three party workers involved in an unacceptable incident in Kollam have been suspended with immediate effect. They do not represent our ideology and such behaviour is inexcusable. The party is crowdfunding small donations voluntarily unlike others who get corporate donations,” said Kerala Congress chief K Sudhakaran in a Twitter post.
A vegetable shopkeeper was allegedly threatened by Congress workers in Kollam for not contributing Rs 2,000 towards the collection of funds for Bharat Jodo Yatra.
S Fawaz, a vegetable shopkeeper in Kollam alleged that Congress workers damaged the weighing machine of the shop and destroyed vegetables. He further alleged that the Congress workers created chaos and attacked the staff of the shop.
“A group of Congress workers reached the shop and asked for donations for ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’. I gave Rs 500 but they demanded Rs 2,000. They damaged weighing machines and threw away vegetables. They also used abusive language and attacked the staff,” Fawaz said.
Following the incident, Fawaz filed a complaint at the Kunnicode police station. A case has been registered against Congress workers under sections 447, 427 and 506 of the IPC.
As Congress’ Bharat Jodo Yatra entered its eighth day, party leaders led by Rahul Gandhi started the march from Kollam on Friday.
The Yatra resumed today after a one-day break on September 15. The yatra completed its seventh day on Wednesday which was started from Navayikkulam in Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram.
On the seventh day, Rahul Gandhi interacted with students at Chathannur in the Kollam district.
“As we conclude the first week of Bharat Jodo Yatra today, with the distance covered and souls we connected with, our commitment grew stronger, our goal became clearer, and our family grew larger. This is the power of truth; the power of oneness,” the Congress said. The Yatra is in its Kerala leg and would traverse through the state for the next 14 days.
The 3,500-km march from Kanyakumari to Kashmir will be completed in 150 days and cover as many as 12 states. From Kerala, the Yatra will traverse through the state for the next 18 days, reaching Karnataka on September 30.
It will be in Karnataka for 21 days before moving north. The Padyatra (march) will cover a distance of 25 km every day.
Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said that the spirit of the Bharat Jodo Yatra is to bring Indians together irrespective of religion, community and remind them that this is one country and it will be successful if we stand together and are respectful towards each other.
According to Congress, the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ is being held to combat the divisive politics of the BJP-led Centre and to awaken the people of the country to the dangers of economic inequalities, social polarisation, and political centralization.
