New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday launched the party’s Bharat Jodo Yatra from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu.
The Congress has said that the march is aimed at countering the “environment of hate” prevalent in the country, besides flagging the problems of increasing unemployment, rising prices and political centralisation.
The 3,570 kilometre-long tour will cover 12 states and two Union Territories in about five months. Ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the party has described the march as its biggest mass-contact exercise since Independence and a “turning point” in India’s political history.
Before the launch of the march, Gandhi on Wednesday visited the memorial of his father and former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi at Tamil Nadu’s Sriperumbudur. Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated in Sriperumbudur on May 21, 1991, when an operative of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam detonated her RDX-laden belt.
“I lost my father to the politics of hate and division,” Gandhi said in a tweet along with a picture of him paying respects to his father. “I will not lose my beloved country to it too. Love will conquer hate. Hope will defeat fear. Together, we will overcome.”
He then attended an event in Kanyakumari, where Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, his Rajasthan counterpart Ashok Gehlot and Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel were present. Stalin handed over the national flag to him at the event for the launch of the yatra.
Congress leaders and workers have been arriving at Kanyakumari from across the country in batches for the march.
Gandhi and others who will take part in the march plan to walk around 22 to 23 kilometres daily, PTI reported. Led by Gandhi, Congress workers and leaders will walk in two batches between 7 am and 6.30 pm everyday.
They will pass through Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Nilambur, Mysuru, Bellary, Raichur, Vikarabad, Nanded, Jalgaon, Indore, Kota, Dausa, Alwar, Bulandshahr, Delhi, Ambala, Pathankot and Jammu, before culminating the march in Srinagar.
The Congress leader had said that the party has no choice but to go to the citizens directly and tell them about the situation in the country.
“The government has blocked all paths for us,” he had said at a rally in Delhi. “The medium of Parliament is not there. Congress leaders, the opposition, and people cannot make speeches in Parliament. Our mic is put off. We want to talk about China’s attack but can’t do it. We want to talk about unemployment, but we can’t do that. Want to talk about inflation, can’t do that.”
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh had said the march is a “transformational moment” for Indian politics and a “decisive moment” for the Congress’ rejuvenation.
“The first reason for the division is economic disparity, the second is social polarisation and the third is political centralisation as states’ rights are being snatched away,” he added. “So, it is important to unite the country. If not now, then when?” Scroll. In
