India facing highest unemployment rate in 45 years, says Rahul Gandhi: Bharat Jodo Yatra enters ninth day

India is facing the highest unemployment rate in the last 45 years and it was the duty of the Congress party to strengthen the future said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said on Friday after the conclusion of the ninth day of Bharat Jodo Yatra at Neendakara, the coastal town in the Kollam district of Kerala.

Kollam (Kerala): India is facing the highest unemployment rate in the last 45 years and it was the duty of the Congress party to strengthen the future of the youth and bring positivity to the minds of youngsters in the country, senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said on Friday.

On the ninth day, the morning leg of the Bharat Jodo Yatra led by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi concluded at Neendakara, the coastal town in the Kollam district of Kerala, where he is scheduled to interact with people from various walks of life. In this stretch, the foot march which started from Polayathodu covered a distance of almost 13 km.

On the way, Gandhi interacted with local people and went to a school at Neendakara where he spoke to students and posed for photos with them. Many senior citizens were seen breaking the security cordon to reach Gandhi and shake hands with him and attempted to get a picture with him.

A Kathakali artist performed a step in front of the senior Congress leader, who was seen keenly observing it. Senior Congress leaders V D Satheesan and K C Venugopal were seen helping Rahul understand the traditional art form of Kerala. In a post on Facebook, Rahul Gandhi said: "The beauty of Kerala is famous all over the world and the people here make Kerala even more beautiful. Met a lot of people during the visit this morning, thank you for their lots of love".

The Congress party's 3,570 km and 150-day long foot march started from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu on September 7 and will conclude in Jammu and Kashmir. In his today's march, Rahul Gandhi will interact with cashew workers, cashew entrepreneurs, trade unions, and leaders of RSP and Forward Bloc, both allies of the Congress, in the afternoon.

In the evening leg of the yatra, they will begin at 5 PM from the Chavara bus stand and conclude at Karunagapally where the Bharat Jodo Yatra members will halt for the night. Apart from Satheesan and Venugopal, senior Congress leaders Ramesh Chennithala, K Muraleedharan, and RSP leader N K Premachandran among others were seen walking beside Gandhi.

The Bharat Jodo Yatra, which entered Kerala on September 10 evening, would traverse through the state covering 450 km, touching seven districts over a period of 19 days before entering Karnataka on October 1. The yatra will enter Alappuzha on September 17 and pass through Ernakulam district on September 21 and 22 and reach Thrissur on September 23. The foot march will traverse through Palakkad on September 26 and 27 and enter Malappuram on September 28.