Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday alleged that the policies of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Central government have “broken the backbone” of small businesses while benefitting selected businessmen.

Rahul Gandhi’s remarks came while addressing a gathering in Maharashtra after the Bharat Jodo Yatra entered its Maharashtra leg on Monday evening on its 61st day of the march.

He hit out at the Centre over unemployment and said that the country cannot give employment to its youth.

“No force can stop the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ in between. The yatra will only stop in J-K’s Srinagar and we will hoist the tricolour there. The target of this yatra is to unite India and also to raise voice against the hatred, anger and violence that are being spread across the country. Unemployment is increasing in the country. PM Modi’s wrong policies like demonetisation, GST, have broken small businesses, farmers who were the backbone of employment. The truth of India is that the country cannot give employment to its youth,” he said.

Alleging that the Prime Minister does not talk about inflation, the Wayanad MP claimed that the government extends all the profit to a handful of people.

“The Prime Minister earlier used to complain about the price of gas cylinders becoming Rs 400, today it is more. But he does not complain today. Earlier he used to talk about diesel and petrol, today the price of petrol is over Rs 100, but he does not talk about it. The government extends all the profit to selected two-three people. We are on the roads for such issues,” he said.

Taking to Twitter, Rahul Gandhi said,”Black money did not come, only poverty came. Economy does not become cashless instead weakened. Terrorism did not end. Crores of small businesses and jobs were lost during demonetisation. The ‘Raja’ did the DeMo-lition of the economy with the promise of ’50 days’.”

The yatra has already covered parts of Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Telangana.

Now, Rahul Gandhi entered Maharashtra on Monday at Madnur Naka in Degloor of Nanded district.

The Maharashtra Congress Committee has made elaborate arrangements. They are trying to get massive success in Maharashtra too.

In Maharashtra, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Shiv Sena (Thackeray faction) have agreed to participate in the yatra, adding to its importance.

For massive outreach, NCP supremo Sharad Pawar will join the yatra on Tuesday.Pawar will only walk less than a mile because he has been undergoing treatment at Breach Candy Hospital, Mumbai. Shiv Sena Chief Uddhav Thackeray and former minister Aaditya Thackeray are yet to confirm their schedule; both are likely to join Rahul Gandhi in his yatra.

Arvind Sawant and Manisha Kayande will join the yatra from the Udhav Balasaheb Thackeray faction of Shiv Sena.

Many big congress leaders will be joining the Bharat Jodo Yatra including Nana Patole, Balasaheb Thorat, Bhaijagtap, Ashok Chavan and others.

Bharat Jodo Yatra, which began on September 7 from Kanyakumari, will cover a further distance of 2,355 km in its 3,570-km march. It will end in Kashmir next year. It is the longest march on foot by any Indian politician in the history of India, the Congress claimed earlier in a statement. Bharat Jodo Yatra is getting support from various political parties and social organizations across the country and the response is increasing day by day.

Notably, all the party MPs, leaders and workers along with Rahul Gandhi are staying in containers. Sleeping beds, toilets and ACs are also installed in some of the containers. The arrangements have been made keeping in view the intense heat and humidity with the change of places.The Congress suffered a debacle in the assembly polls held earlier this year and the Yatra is seen as an attempt to rally the party rank and file for the upcoming electoral battles.