Woman ragpicker shares her woes with Rahul Gandhi in MP town

Barwaha (MP): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi interacted with a woman ragpicker as his Bharat Jodo Yatra passed through a town in Khargone district of Madhya Pradesh on Saturday, during which she told him about the issues she and her family faced, including lack of basic amenities like electricity and water. The foot march led by Gandhi entered the fourth day of its Madhya Pradesh leg on Saturday.

After an overnight halt, the yatra began from Mortakka in Khandwa district in the morning. When it was passing through Barwaha town in Khargone, Gandhi met 45-year-old ragpicker Shannu and her family members, who were part of the crowd standing along the road.

"We are poor and make a living through ragpicking at different places. We live in a hut, which doesn't even have electricity and water," she told Gandhi during their interaction.

The woman and her family members said that their voice was not being heard.

"My children can't even go to school," she said.

Meanwhile, Congress general secretary in-charge of Uttar Pradesh Priyanka Gandhi Vadra along with her husband Robert Vadra and son Raihan Vadra participated in the yatra for the third consecutive day.

The yatra will reach Mhow, the birthplace of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, this evening.

A Congress leader said that a public meeting has been organised in Mhow to mark the Constitution Day on Saturday, which will be addressed by Gandhi and party president Mallikarjun Kharge.

Both the leaders will also pay homage at the memorial built at Dr Ambedkar's birthplace. The Gandhi-led yatra, which began from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu on September 7, entered the Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled Madhya Pradesh on November 23 in Burhanpur district from neighbouring Maharashtra.

As per the programme announced by the Congress, the yatra will cover a distance of 380 kms in the Malwa-Nimar region of western Madhya Pradesh within 12 days, before it enters Rajasthan on December 4.