Congress launches ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ with next 150 padyatra from Kanyakumari to Kashmir; Rahul Gandhi initiates ceremony in Sriperumbudur
The Bharat Jodo Yatra is a movement to rejuvenate Congress and its position as the chief opposition party in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections and also to unite a very divided India that has seen escalated riots and communal disharmony over the last few years.
Congress launches it 3,570 km-long “Bharat Jodo Yatra” on Wednesday, the party claimed that the padyatra would be a turning point in Indian politics and marks a “new beginning”. Many Opposition leaders such as M.K. Stalin, Yogendra Yadav, Shiv Sena and others stand with the Congress in this movement. Distinguished philosopher, Yogendra Yadav, Indian reformer, psephologist and politician, in fact, went on a sabbatical from Samyukt Kisan Morcha for two years and will join the yatra, sending a powerful message of how important it was.
The movement is charismatic and electrifying for the ones on the ground and Ayush Bhatt said in awe, “My uncle who has been a Congress supporter for the last 50 years said to me that he felt the same energy in #BharatJodoYatra rally for Rahul Gandhi as he saw during Indira rally in 1983. He told Rahul Gandhi is tapping the same demographics as Indira Gandhi who United all.”
My uncle who has been Congress supporter from last 50 years said to me that he felt the same energy in #BharatJodoYatra rally for Rahul Gandhi as he saw during Indira rally in 1983. He told Rahul Gandhi is tapping the same demographics as Indira Gandhi who United all.
— Ayush Bhatt (@TruthSeeker4Ind) September 6, 2022
Srinivas BV Youth Congress President tweets, “Touchdown! Shri @RahulGandhi arrives in Kanyakumari to launch the historic #BharatJodoYatra. The nationwide movement has begun, its time to unite India.”
Rahul Gandhi said, “How can a country that is divided be successful? It is impossible. Whatever our differences may be, we stand strongest when we stand together.”
Whatever our differences may be,
we stand strongest
when we stand together#BharatJodoYatra #MileKadamJudeVatan pic.twitter.com/kRz2tsDVsk— Bharat Jodo (@bharatjodo) September 5, 2022
Former Congress President Rahul Gandhi, who will launch the yatra at a mega rally in Kanyakumari, took part in a prayer meeting at the Rajiv Gandhi memorial in Sriperumbudur on Wednesday morning. “I lost my father to the politics of hate and division. I will not lose my beloved country to it too,” he said in a tweet later. “Love will conquer hate. Hope will defeat fear. Together, we will overcome,” he said.
With the launch of this Yatra, Congress is aiming to banner economic disparities, social polarisation and political centralisation. Ahead of the Yatra, and Rahul Gandhi has said that with all paths allegedly blocked by the government, Congress now has to go to the people and tell them the truth, and that is why the party is undertaking the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’.
There will be 118 Congress leaders from Kanyakumari to Kashmir in 150 days, and Rahul Gandhi will stay in a container for the next 150 days. These containers have Air conditioners, sleeping mattresses, and restrooms. There will be different climate changes along the way. The arrangements have been made keeping in mind the new location’s extreme heat and humidity.
The party has made it clear that the senior leader will not stay in any hotels and complete the journey in a simple manner. About 60 containers have been made and sent to Kanyakumari, and Sri Gandhi and full-time Yatris will stay in them throughout the journey.
Sources added that Gandhi considered the Yatra a way to connect with the common people and wanted to keep away from flamboyance and glamour and want to keep it simple.
The yatra will pass through 12 States and two Union Territories including Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Telangana, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir in about five months.
Yogendra Yadav tweet, “Civil society companions marching towards Gandhi Mandap (Kanyakumari) to join #BharatJodoYatra
Civil society companions marching towards Gandhi Mandap (Kanyakumari) to join #BharatJodoYatra https://t.co/qtMvgFwWKL
— Yogendra Yadav (@_YogendraYadav) September 7, 2022
The yatra commences powerful with strong emotions flowing in a very electrifying atmosphere of patriotism amid the jeering of the BJP, but Congress remains undeterred and unruffled by their taunting. One thought just occurs that when India had to fight for freedom in 1947, they were already united. India once again is fighting” – but this time for a very different reason – for the unity of India.
(With agency inputs)