Rahul Gandhi on Sunday said that India’s youth must be protected from being misguided by the politics of hate, which some political forces were bent on spreading rather than create jobs for them.

“Such an atmosphere didn’t prevail in the country a few years ago…. Earlier, there was social harmony and brotherhood. There was amity. That’s not the case today. This was one of the compelling reasons for starting the Bharat Jodo Yatra,” the Congress leader said.

Rahul posted on his Facebook page a photograph showing him with a group of young men and women and wrote: “This is from the Bharat Jodo Yatra this morning. These youths are saying there is no room for hatred in our beloved country. After all, why are citizens of this country raising their voice against hate? You all know the answer.”

Among the many placards the youths held, one read: “No place for hate.”

The Bharat Jodo Yatra was in Tumkur, Karnataka, on Sunday morning, having covered more than 800km so far. Thousands, including children, students, housewives, labourers, fishermen, farmers, trade unionists, businessmen, social activists and families of Covid victims have met Rahul during the month-old Yatra.

Rahul’s Facebook post said: “Our youth are the future of the country. They need love, not hate. They need jobs so that they can build their own and the country’s future. Some political parties misguide the youth, keep them unemployed to be used in their divisive politics.”

He added: “We will have to protect our youth, prevent them from being misled. We will have to ensure a better tomorrow for them; good education and employment opportunities will have to be created.”

At several stretches of the Yatra in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka, groups of unemployed youths had joined the march wearing T-shirts that read: “We are walking for jobs.”

Rahul said: “Our Bharat Jodo Yatra is receiving enormous support from the youth. They are talking to me freely and I am listening to their concerns. Our youths are extremely talented. If they are pushed into the inferno of hate, the country’s future will be destroyed.

“In our Yatra, people from all regions, all castes are walking together, hand in hand, without even asking each other’s name. If some people are left behind, others stop and wait for them to catch up. If somebody falls, he is picked up immediately.”

At all his public meetings, held at the end of the day’s walk, Rahul has been talking about the fraternal feelings and camaraderie witnessed during the Yatra.

On Facebook, Rahul wrote: “The beauty of the Yatra is its unity and integrity. Our India was like this in the old days. We have to rebuild that lovely India. We are moving ahead with the message of peace and harmony. People are joining on their own. Come, let’s bolster the voice of these youths and jointly unite India.”

While the BJP has been claiming that a party responsible for Partition cannot lead a march to unite the country, it has so far not addressed the key question about the need to unite the fractured society today.

No BJP leader has contested the basic premise of the Yatra — that hatred is being spread in India, dividing the country.

The Yatra, which is gaining momentum by the day, will continue for another four months, allowing enough opportunity for a constructive discourse on its core concerns: inflation, joblessness and the divisive politics of hate.

The Congress expects a much bigger impact in the coming weeks, its initial fears about disruptions in BJP-ruled Karnataka having been allayed.

The Yatra has created such enthusiasm in the party that many state units are planning to telecast it live from key locations. On Sunday, 13 high-tech LED Bharat Jodo Raths were launched in Kolhapur, Maharashtra, a state the Yatra will enter after a few weeks.

These motorised vehicles will travel across Kolhapur district, carrying huge screens on which the walkathon will be live-streamed.