Leelabai Chitale, a 93-year-old participant in the 1942 Quit India movement, briefly joined Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra on Thursday. Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh shared a video message by Chitale, who joined the cross-country foot march in Vadegaon, Balapur tehsil, in Maharashtra’s Akola district.
Ramesh mentioned in his tweet that Chitale emphasized the yatra’s focus on safeguarding the constitution. In the video message, Chitale reminisced, “I was twelve years old on August 9, 1942. Mahatma Gandhi had given the slogan ‘Do or Die.’ My two friends and I were caught shouting slogans against the British near a college.” She recalled being released the same evening due to their young age but mentioned that her father and brother were incarcerated for three and a half years. Chitale expressed her belief that the country did not attain freedom as portrayed today.
Highlighting the diversity of participants in the freedom struggle, Chitale added that individuals from all walks of life and religions took part. She asserted that those participating in the Bharat Jodo Yatra are working towards preserving the Constitution.
