‘Make people aware of their rights’

Nagpur: Even as people are aware of the importance of the Constitution of India, they do not understand it and therefore efforts should be made to ensure they know what their rights are, said Krishnakant Chouhan, who is part of Samvidhan Samman Yatra, on Friday.
Speaking at Ambedkar Conference Hall in Uruwela Colony, Chouhan said the aim of the yatra is to promote awareness about the Constitution. “We’ve been divided for very long. The Constitution speaks about equality before law and religion, but the rift between people is growing. The answers to all our problems lie in the Constitution,” he added.

The yatra, organized by National Alliance of People’s Movement, started on October 2 from Dandi from where Mahatma Gandhi had launched the long march. It reached Nagpur on Friday. Set over 65 days, it will cover 26 states, covering a distance of 25,000 kilometres. It will culminate at Delhi on December 10, the World Human Rights Day.

Thirty members are part of the yatra who are visiting different states, trying to impress upon people the importance of the Constitution. They are joined by the local supporters in the respective cities.

The conference was also addressed by Dr Sunilam, Praful Samatra, Vimal Bhai and Suniti SR.

Suniti said, “Today’s government is violating the Constitution. Women in the country are not safe, river Narmada is drying up and trees are being chopped off for constructing highways. The politicians want corporate development and not that of people.”

The question of the bullet train scheduled to start between Mumbai and Ahmedabad was also raised with the activists stating that 72 trains are already running on this route. Expenditure on the bullet train is a waste of government money.