The second day of the ambitious Bharat Jodo Yatra led by former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi saw participation from people of different walks of life in the stretch between Agasteeswaram town to Nagercoil of Kanniyakumari district in Tamil Nadu on Thursday.
Besides reaching out to party’s women activists in the southern State, Rahul also distributed prizes to the winners of the Jawahar Bal Manch painting competition followed by a discussion with Dalit activists and representatives of civil society in Kottaram.
Those participating in the yatra took rest at the SMSM Higher Secondary School, Suchindrum, which was also visited by Mahatma Gandhi and C Rajagopalachari in 1937. Mahatma Gandhi had signed the school visitors’ book in both Hindi and Tamil.
In between Rahul also met the family of S Anitha, who had allegedly died by suicide five years ago after failing to crack National Entrance-cum-Eligibility Test (NEET). Anitha’s brother S Manirathinam said his family was “personally affected” due to the NEET.
Anitha’s suicide in 2017 sparked off a series of similar deaths by medical aspirants in the State, either over apprehensions pertaining to NEET or over being unable to crack the exmination.
“Rahul has embarked on the padyatra to protect India and the Constitution.This march is for all the affected persons. We were affected personally due to NEET and wanted exemption,” the family members told the media who accompanied Rahul and his party colleague and local Karur Lok Sabha MP Jothimani.