Rahul Gandhi concludes Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra by reading Preamble of Constitution

NEW DELHI: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi concluded his 63-day-old Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra here by paying tributes to Dr B R Ambedkar at his memorial Chaityabhoomi in central Mumbai and reading the Preamble of the Constitution.

The former Congress president was accompanied by his sister and party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

He paid tributes to Dr Ambedkar, the architect of the Indian Constitution, and read its preamble.

The yatra, which commenced from strife-torn Manipur on January 14, entered Mumbai from neighbouring Thane on the 63rd day on Saturday.

Gandhi will undertake a 'Nyay Sankalp Padyatra' from Mani Bhavan to August Kranti Maidan in Mumbai on Sunday morning.

On Sunday, the opposition INDIA bloc will hold a rally in a show of strength. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav and SP chief Akhilesh are scheduled to take part in the event. Earlier on Saturday, addressing a public meeting in the Dharavi area, Gandhi reiterated the Congress' promise of caste census and asserted that poor women would get Rs 1 lakh every year in their bank accounts if his party returned to power.

"Dharavi is yours and should remain yours. Your skills should be honoured and this place should become a manufacturing hub of the country," he said and targeted the Adani Group, which has been awarded the project to redevelop the slum sprawl.

The country's wealth is being given to certain corporates, he alleged. "Dharavi is your own land but the government is trying to acquire it through 'dalals' (agents). Police force is being used to throw out the residents for the Dharavi redevelopment project," he alleged.

Dharavi is 'Make in India' in the real sense and should be made India's manufacturing hub, he said. Meanwhile, Adani's Dharavi Redevelopment Project Private Limited (DRPPL) rejected Gandhi's allegations concerning it. Contrary to the claims of favouritism, the selection was based entirely on merit, with the Adani Group submitting the highest bid in a tender that was open to national and international participants, said the business conglomerate. It said the tender's terms and conditions were finalised during the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi government, of which Congress was a part.

The allegations of "selling all of Mumbai to Adani" are preposterous, malicious, and unfounded, it said in a statement. "They are made with the intention of detracting from the critical conversation about improving the lives of millions of Dharavikars. For decades, the people of Dharavi have lived in the hope of a better future. Now that decisive steps have been taken, we need to work together to make this vision a reality without politicising the redevelopment," said the business house led by industrialist Gautam Adani.

"We categorically refute the assertion that all tenements of Dharavi will be displaced. The project guarantees a minimum of 350 sq ft homes to all eligible tenement residents, setting a new standard for housing under Slum Rehabilitation Authority projects," the statement said.

The tender has also made provisions for those tenements that may not be eligible by providing them housing as per the rental housing scheme of the Maharashtra government and the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, demonstrating the commitment of the state and the Adani Group to the well-being of all Dharavikars, the statement said. "Our mission is to transform Dharavi into a model of urban redevelopment, improving living conditions with a human-centric approach. We remain dedicated to this vision and to work closely with all stakeholders to ensure a transparent and beneficial redevelopment process," it added.