New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, along with several party leaders, embarked on the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ from Kanyakumari.
This marks the beginning of the party’s new effort to reach out to the electorate and rejuvenate its organisation.
Ahead of the start of the foot march, Gandhi hoisted the national flag at the campsite of the ‘Bharat Yatris’ – participants of the march – who will walk with him through the 3,570 km journey from Kanyakumari to Kashmir.
Gandhi began the foot march from Agasteeswaram in Tamil Nadu, along with 118 ‘Bharat Yatris’ as well as other party leaders from across the country.
As he commenced the yatra, Gandhi met the relatives of S. Anitha, the NEET aspirant, who had allegedly died by suicide five years ago after failing to crack the exam, the Indian Express reported.
The Congress leader met women activists, Dalit groups, environmentalists and representatives of civil society.
“The aim of Bharat Jodo is to unite the people of this country irrespective of any Caste or community barriers and this interaction was a promising step forward toward achieving that goal,” the party said on Twitter.
Gandhi also interacted with children at Jawahar Bal Manch and distributed prizes to the winners of the national painting competition conducted by the organisation.
The Times of India reported that while on his way, Gandhi met people who exchanged notes with him.
Around 2 pm, he shared on Twitter an image of himself with a child, saying: “This is the foundation of the future of the country. This is the beginning of tomorrow…One your step, one my step, if found, join your homeland.”
After the commencement of the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh told news agency Press Trust of India that the cross-country grassroots campaign will see the party emerge in a new aggressive avatar that cannot be taken for granted by either friends or political adversaries.
“I am 100% sure this ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ is the ‘sanjivani’ for the Congress; it is a life saver, it is going to revive the Congress, it is going to refresh the Congress, it will renew the Congress, it will be a Congress in a new avatar,” he said.
Gandhi had flagged off the party’s ambitious march with the assertion that he will not lose his country to hate. He also accused the Bharatiya Janata Party and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh of trying to divide the country on religious lines.
In a symbolic gesture of the commencement of ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra,’ DMK president and Tamil Nadu chief minister M.K. Stalin handed over the national flag to Gandhi and both the leaders saluted the tricolour, signifying the broad theme of unity.
Eyeing the revival of the crisis-ridden party ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, party chief Sonia Gandhi had described the march as a “landmark occasion” and hoped that the march would help rejuvenate the grand old party.
The march will move in two batches from 7 am to 10.30 am and from 3.30 pm to 6.30 pm. While the morning session will include fewer participants, the evening session will see mass mobilisation. The participants plan to walk around 22-23 km daily. The Wire
