Congress workers harass vegetable vendor for 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' donation, suspended

A vegetable vendor in Kollam alleged that some Congress workers threatened him and attacked his staff for not donating Rs 2,000 for the party's Bharat Jodo Yatra, which is in its Kerala leg.

S Fawaz alleged that Congress workers damaged the weighing machine of the shop and destroyed vegetables when he refused to donate Rs 2,000 for the Congress' yatra. He alleged that the Congress workers also attacked the staff of his shop. The party has suspended three workers involved in the incident.

"Three party workers involved in an unacceptable incident in Kollam have been suspended with immediate effect. They do not represent our ideology and such behaviour is inexcusable. The party is crowdfunding small donations voluntarily unlike others who get corporate donations," K Sudhakaran said in a tweet.


The video of the incident has gone viral on the social media.

"A group of Congress workers reached the shop and asked for donations for 'Bharat Jodo Yatra'. I gave Rs 500 but they demanded Rs 2,000. They damaged weighing machines and threw away vegetables. They also used abusive language and attacked the staff," Fawaz alleged.


Fawaz has filed a complaint at the Kunnicode police station. Based on the complaint, police have filed a case against Congress workers under sections 447,427 and 506 of the IPC.

Congress' leaders Rahul Gandhi started the Bharat Jodo Yatra from Kollam on Friday. The yatra completed its seventh day on Wednesday which was started from Navayikkulam in Kerala's Thiruvananthapuram.

The Congress' 3,500-km march from Kanyakumari to Kashmir will be completed in 150 days and cover as many as 12 states. From Kerala, the Yatra will traverse through the state for the next 18 days, reaching Karnataka on September 30. It will be in Karnataka for 21 days before moving north. The Padyatra (march) will cover a distance of 25 km every day.

According to Congress, the 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' is being held to combat the divisive politics of the BJP-led Centre and to awaken the people of the country to the dangers of economic inequalities, social polarisation, and political centralization.