Rahul Gandhi's yatra in the interest of nation: Former RAW chief AS Dulat 

AS Dulat, former Secretary of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW)

Former chief of Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) Amarjit Singh Dulat, on December 4, said Rahul Gandhi was working in the right direction to unite the country and his joining the Bharat Jodo Yatra was not political.

In a conversation with Moneycontrol, Dulat said, “I have no idea why BJP leaders are upset with my visit. I was invited by the Congress party and I thought it was good for the country.”

He said that the yatra has many political dimensions, which are clearly in the interest of the nation. “I am a man with a centrist approach, whatever I feel is best for my country, I say it without hesitation. Bharat Jodo Yatra is bringing people together and I realised it when I hit the ground. I have never seen such an enthusiastic crowd earlier,” said Dulat.

The BJP leaders shouldn’t be upset with this yatra, even Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself talks about uniting the country and Rahul Gandhi is only working in that direction.

“The two parties keep blaming each other, but when I had an hour-long interaction with Rahul Gandhi, he discussed issues. He didn’t say anything against the BJP. He told me he is on a mission,” said Dulat.

On December 3, Dulat was seen walking with Rahul Gandhi in the Bharat Jodo Yatra, which resumed after a nine-day break, and entered Uttar Pradesh from Delhi. The BJP leaders had slammed him for his participation.

Political analyst Rasheed Kidwai said that Rahul Gandhi has made himself a potential threat to the ruling BJP and has achieved success in upsetting his political opponents.

“Rahul Gandhi is able to make an alternative narrative. The people who are joining him in the yatra have the ability to create a stir following which the BJP leaders are disgruntled. Personalities such as Raghuram Rajan, Medha Patkar, Swara Bhaskar, and AS Dulat have an appeal in public and ring a bell,” said Kidwai.

In his tweet, BJP’s IT cell chief Amit Malviya said, “Controversial former RAW chief AS Dulat joined Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra. No one ever accused Dulat of being committed either to his job or the country he was meant to serve, supped with secessionists and Pakistan's deep state and has a monumental role in the Kashmir fiasco.”

Reacting to Malviya’s tweet, Dulat said that he has 35 years of experience in Kashmir and doesn’t need any validation from anyone.

Earlier, Malviya had taken a swipe at former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan for joining the yatra in Rajasthan. “Raghuram Rajan, former RBI Governor, a Congress appointee, joining Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra is not a surprise. He fancies himself as the next Manmohan Singh. Just that his commentary on India's economy should be discarded with disdain. It is coloured and opportunistic...," tweeted BJP's IT cell head, Amit Malviya.