New Delhi: A day after the Parliament session got over, people's Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi was back to his mass politics on Thursday as he listened to the woes of daily wage labourers in the national capital and will soon visit the victims of the Hathras stampede tragedy in Uttar Pradesh.
Rahul, who leads the opposition INDIA bloc in the Lok Sabha, also directed the Youth Congress to bring together the youth wings of the alliance partners and take up the issues of the people, particularly the students, jointly.
"We want to respect and protect people who do hard work with their hands. A large number of people do such hard work but get nothing. That is our thought," Rahul said.
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"Rahul Gandhi interacted with the daily wage labourers at GTB Nagar this morning. He shared some construction work along with them and listened to their problems for an hour. These workers are the backbone of the country's economy. We are committed to resolving their problems," All India Congress Committee (AICC) in-charge Dipak Babaria told ETV Bharat.
"Such interactions are not new. In fact, Rahul Gandhi has been interacting with various such groups including motor mechanics, carpenters, cooks, coolies, truck drivers, and vegetable vendors among others over the past years to understand their issues and express solidarity with them. He has assumed a key Constitutional post but is rightly called a people's Leader of the Opposition,” he said.
AICC in charge of UP Avinash Pande said Rahul Gandhi, who represents Rae Bareli parliamentary seat in the state, "will soon visit the victims of the Hathras stampede tragedy.”
Over the past few days, the Congress and its ally Samajwadi Party have targeted the state government over its alleged negligence which led to the stampede at a religious congregation in Hathras. On July 3, state unit chief Ajay Rai visited the families of the victims who perished or got injured in the stampede that took place on July 2.
Around 121 persons, mostly women, lost their lives in the tragedy which is now being investigated by a panel headed by retired High Court judge Brijesh Kumar.
Besides, the former Congress chief has also directed Youth Congress to firm up joint protest strategies with the youth wings of other like-minded parties so that the issues related to the common man can be amplified.
"We discussed a joint strategy before staging our big protests against the NEET-UG scam in Delhi and other places. This is a big issue with the students. We will also take up other issues under the banner of India Youth Front," Youth Congress chief BV Srinivas said, adding, "Our volunteers are also helping people marooned due to floods in Assam."
UP leaders said SP chief Akhilesh Yadav may join Rahul during his visit to Hathras to showcase alliance unity. Also, the state unit plans to launch a mass contact drive by planting a tree in each of the 1.62 lakh booths on July 5 in memory of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, said Avinash Pande. “We will also felicitate the six newly elected MPs and the other Lok Sabha candidates to mobilize the party," he added.
