On 10th December, in an interview with 4PM, a YouTube-based news channel, Chief Of Indian Overseas Congress Sam Pitroda claimed that Rajiv Gandhi “had his palms bleeding” due to handshake with thousands of poor Indians with “roughened skin” during his visit to Amethi.
Sanjay Sharma, the editor of 4PM, and Sam discussed the upcoming Bharat Nyay Yatra of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, a sequel to the Bharat Jodo Yatra. Sanjay questioned if Rajiv Gandhi, former Prime Minister and Rahul Gandhi’s father, was also fond of “yatras” just as the junior Gandhi. Sam, who was friends with Rajiv Gandhi, affirmed that Rajiv Gandhi was also fond of Yatras.
Recounting an incident during one such Yatra to his constituency Amethi, Pitroda said that he met Rajiv after the Yatra and noticed his hands were bleeding. When asked what happened, Rajiv told him that during Yatra, he shook hands with nearly 5,000 poor people. As their hands were rough because of the labour work, his hands got hurt and started bleeding. Pitroda asserted that Rajiv was not worried about bleeding hands, but was happy after meeting the poor people.
Rajiv said it was his duty and job, “I feel perfect meeting them.” Pitroda said, “Despite being the Prime Minister, he would meet many people. He used to come with us to Amethi, and we went with him. Sometimes we were in the same car, and sometimes in a different one. The crowd was always overwhelming.”
Congress lost family seat Amethi in 2019
Rajiv Gandhi fought the election from Amethi in 1981, 1984, 1989, and 1991. Satish Sharma of the Congress Party then took over the family bastion. Later, Sonia Gandhi contested the election from Amethi in 1999 and won. In 2004, 2009 and 2014, Rahul Gandhi fought the election from Amethi and became Lok Sabha MP. However, Congress lost the family seat to BJP leader and Union Minister Smriti Irani, who won the 2019 elections from Amethi, snatching the long-held Congress fortress and forcing Rahul Gandhi to flee to Wayanad.
Bharat Naya Yatra
Congress announced Bharat Naya Yatra on 27th December 2023. It will commence from 14th January to 20th March 2024 across 14 states, covering 6,200 kilometres and 85 zillas. The Yatra will cover the East to West distance from Manipur to Mumbai. It is the sequel to Bharat Jodo Yatra, where Rahul Gandhi “walked” across several states from September 2023 to January 2024. Interestingly, the next couple of months are peak for preparations for the upcoming General Elections, and during that period, the Budget Session will also take place in the Parliament. It seems the Congress Party’s possible PM face will miss the Budget Session and the party meetings for Lok Sabha Elections 2024.