BALLARI: Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi, who has been leading the Bharat Jodo Yatra for the last one month, took a break from the yatra on Monday and cast his vote in the AICC presidential election from a make-shift polling booth in a container at Sanganakallu village on the outskirts of Ballari city. Several Congress MPs, including DK Suresh, cast their votes at the same booth.
Accepting the invitation of families who are into denim manufacturing in Ballari, the Wayanad MP visited the residence of one Hyder Ali who owns a small jeans-making unit at Cowl Bazaar in Ballari. The Ballari jeans industry has its own history in the country having employed thousands of people. Rahul had heard a lot about the industry during his interaction with weavers in Moka village. Earlier, Rahul visited Hazrat Irshad Ali Dargah in Cowl Bazaar. Traffic was hit in central Ballari because of his visit.
“It is the most memorable day for us. During our interaction with Rahul, we had invited him to visit our unit. We are facing a lot of difficulties after the Covid pandemic and GST implementation. He listened to us. Rahul said he would help the sector in Ballari to get back to its good old days. Nearly 200 denim-manufacturing units have shut shop in Ballari in the last two years alone,” Hyder Ali said.
Later in the day, Rahul took to social media condemning the Union government for imposing GST on small units. “I visited a few small units operated by women. They said the machines have to be rented without any help from the government which is an additional burden. Many medium and small trades have been destroyed due to wrong GST. We are raising the voice of every class in Bharat Jodo Yatra. This journey will raise the voice of the rights of businessmen,” he said.