NEW DELHI : Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has said that his party had set out to open a shop of love in the market of hatred.

While addressing a large group of party leaders and workers in Rajasthan, Gandhi said: “People who subscribe to our ideology spread love whenever someone spreads hate and violence in the country.”

He recalled the word tapaswi (ascetic) used for him once, and said that real tapaswis were the people who woke up at 4 a.m. every day to start their daily routine.

He added that he had not done something extraordinary by going all the way from Kashmir to Kanyakumari and said that the poor citizens, farmers, labourers and small shopkeepers did harder work.

Gandhi said his Bharat Jodo Yatra had changed the way the politicians gave hours long speeches, by walking for 7-8 hours and giving a speech of 15 minutes.

He expressed his joy over the decision made by Rajasthan’s Chief Minister along with the PCC president and the cabinet to walk 15 kms every month to hear the concerns of the public.

He said: “I will tell President Kharge ji to ask our party leaders to walk the streets once every month and face the hardships, fall, skin their knees and listen to people.” — IANS