Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh, who heads the committee managing the Bharat Jodo Yatra, believes the minimum that this biggest mass contact programme in independent India’s history can deliver is a message that people will not keep quiet if democracy is strangled.

He argues it can actually achieve much more, awakening the country against the politics of division and deception and ushering in a healthy politics of public welfare and accountability. Excerpts from a conversation with The Telegraph as the Yatra traversed Tamil Nadu:

Q: The Congress has been saying for many years that India is hurtling towards disaster. Was a padyatra of this kind the best political response?

Digvijaya: There could have been different kinds of responses in normal times. But today the situation is so abnormal that oppositional politics has been completely choked. Parliament is no longer the same forum: we don’t get time to speak on critical issues and the principle of accountability has been buried long ago by Narendra Modi.

The media is not giving space to the Opposition; they, in fact, defend the government and defame the Opposition. We are compelled to initiate a direct dialogue with the people of this country.

Q: There is criticism that such a format will waste a lot of time. You get long stretches where there are no habitations, nor can you select your weak areas for special attention. For instance, Gujarat is set for a very important election, and the entire party is wandering in Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

Digvijaya: This format allows us to reach people where nobody goes. Don’t see everything in terms of elections. This is Bharat Jodo, not “election jeeto”. Rahul Gandhi can go to campaign in Gujarat. The Yatra will stop there and resume when he returns. Look, the political messaging of this Yatra is not restricted to the place where we are walking. The whole world is watching; the message will go out everywhere.

Digvijaya Singh. File picture

Q: What will the political fallout of this Yatra be? What if this 150-day exercise fails to trigger a revival for the Congress?

Digvijaya: There will definitely be a significant political fallout. (A perception) prevails in the country that Modi has crushed the Opposition and nobody can fight him. Anybody who speaks against (him) will be thrown into jail; the ED, CBI will not spare his critics. You either support Modi or face the music.

This perception itself is dangerous for democracy. Modi is in a position to control the narrative because of his control over the media. If this Yatra conveys the message to the people that there is resistance, that there is a political force which is fighting this regime… the Yatra (will be) successful.

The tremendous response we are getting shows that people appreciate our political position. This Yatra will embolden all those forces in the country who believe in constitutionalism. That’s the success. Don’t see everything through the electoral prism, but there will be very positive political fallouts.

Rahul Gandhi with Stanly, a tea shop owner in south Kerala, as the Congress MP takes a break during the Bharat Jodo Yatra on Sunday. The Yatra entered Kerala on its fifth day on Sunday, and will cross the state in 19 days. “Kerala respects everyone in Kerala…. It does not allow itself to be divided nor does it allow hatred to spread in the state. So, in a sense, Bharat Jodo Yatra is just an extension of the ideas that prevail in Kerala,” Rahul said. PTI picture

Q: The BJP says it’s a “Parivar Bachao Yatra” and is raising all kinds of questions.

Digvijaya: They are absolutely right. It is a Parivar Bachao Yatra. Since the freedom struggle, when the RSS was helping the British, the Congress made this country its parivar. The farmers, the weaker sections, the women, the minorities, the youth… they are our family and are facing extreme danger.

From Kanyakumari to Kashmir, the Congress stands with the people. The Congress is not for two industrialists only. The BJP should meaningfully engage with us instead of talking nonsense.

What is their substantive objection to the issues we are raising in this Yatra? Isn’t the price rise a problem? Isn’t unemployment a problem? Hasn’t communal hatred acquired worrisome dimensions? Isn’t it true that only two business houses are being favoured? Isn’t it true that the economy has been mismanaged? Aren’t central agencies being used only to target Opposition leaders? Debate these issues instead of indulging in meaningless discourse.

Q: With this Yatra receiving a tremendous response, don’t you think the Congress didn’t do enough to secularise society over the last seven decades when several sinister projects to communalise and divide society were brazenly executed?

Digvijaya: The Congress always tried to act according to constitutional principles. Ironically, that was turned into our weakness. We tried to treat everybody as equal and deliver justice in that spirit but we were accused of appeasement. Those who brazenly spread communal poison and pursued divisive politics to polarise society for votes were never questioned.

The media should do some introspection. What kind of nationalism do they want? Our nationalism flows out of the Constitution and humanity. Their nationalism is based on hate and injustice. We hope these issues are debated during this Yatra.