Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday met bikers during the party's Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in the Mokokchung district of Nagaland. People turned up in large numbers as the fourth day of the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra resumed in Nagaland.
Addressing the public gathering in Mokokchung today, Rahul Gandhi said, “I don't try to take advantage of my religion. I try to live my life according to the principles of my religion."
“We wanted to send a message that the North East is as important as any other part of India. It doesn't matter if the population is small but the importance has to be the same," he said.
Last year, the Congress MP walked from Kanyakumari to Kashmir in the Bharat Jodo Yatra to bring the people of India together, Gandhi said, adding “We thought that we should do a similar yatra from east to west."
On Tuesday, Rahul Gandhi said that the Naga problem requires resolution, but it is lacking "conversation, listening to each other and working in implementing a solution."
“There is a problem that needs resolution and clearly, that is a problem that will require conversation, listening to each other and working to implement a solution and that is lacking as far as the Prime Minister's concern," he said.
The Nagaland insurgency is considered to be one of the oldest insurgencies in the country. Several tribal groups have been demanding that the state be declared 'autonomous' from the country. They have been seeking a separate constitution and flag for the state.
However, several governments, during their respective tenures, have attempted to bring stability to the matter. During the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government in 2015, a peace accord was signed between the government and the National Socialist Council of Nagaland.
The Congress MP took a dig at the Prime Minister and said he makes promises without thinking them through and that people are disturbed because the Prime Minister's credibility is on the line.
"The Prime Minister made many promises to the youth of India; he made promises about education and employment, which he thinks he just made, and the people are disturbed by the Prime Minister's credibility on the line that nothing has happened for nine years," he added.
