New Delhi: I met with the Satyagrahi tribal brothers and sisters from Madhya Pradesh who are protesting against the Ken-Betwa project, and I gained a close understanding of their suffering. This project is not only depriving them of their water, forests, and land, but is also causing the submergence of villages that have been their homes for centuries and leading to the destruction of their households. They have been compelled to take the path of protest.

Despite engaging in a peaceful ‘Satyagraha’, their right to protest was snatched away through the use of police force. The BJP government has once again chosen the path of injustice over dialogue. Since their homes and villages were uprooted for a government project, demanding fair compensation and dignified rehabilitation is their legitimate right.

Water, forests, and land are not merely resources; they are the lifeline of tribal society. I and the Congress Party stand with full strength alongside the original inhabitants of India in their struggle for dignity and justice.