Congress leader Rahul Gandhi took another truck ride, but this time it was in the United States. In his recent visit to the US, the former Member of Parliament hopped onto a truck and took a 190 km “American Truck Yatra” from Washington DC to New York with driver Taljinder Singh, Vicky Gill and his companion Ranjeet Singh Banipal. He candidly conversed with the driver on the everyday life of Indian truck drivers in the United States.
The concept of the truck ride was similar to what he took as part of his ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’, when he joined the truck drivers from Delhi to Chandigarh to listen to the problems of truck drivers.
Rahul Gandhi was impressed with the truck and admitted that the trucks in the US were made “keeping in mind the comfort of the driver, but this is not the case in India".
From what they (truckers) eat and how many hours they drive to how much they earn, Gandhi was interested in knowing everything.
"How much do you earn?" Rahul Gandhi was heard asking the driver.
To this, the driver responded by saying that he gets paid much more than what he might be earning in India.
“It is because of us truckers that the work of the manufacturers is done,” he said.
A comparison between a truck driver's life in the US and that of one back home in India was the highlight of the conversation. Truck drivers at home struggle to make ends meet with meagre wages and a record price rise, their American counterparts receive dignity for their labour with decent wages.
They even listen to Sidhu Moose Wala's song 295 during their journey. Gandhi was seen grooving to the music and said, "I like him very much."
The journey ended with them stopping for breakfast and learning about a truck app and how it helps the drivers.
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