The Congress has underlined that the yatra was not being held with any particular election in mind but to “unify” India, with Rahul Gandhi earlier saying that it is being taken out to combat polarisation and political centralisation in the country
Team Clarion
NEW DELHI — Congress is set to launch its 3,570 km ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ on Wednesday (September 7) with a rally to be held in Tamil Nadu’s Kanyakumari at 5 pm. Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi has left Chennai for Kanyakumari, from where he will be kicking off the Bharat Jodo March on Wednesday.
Early on Wednesday, Rahul attended a prayer gathering at the memorial of his father and former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu. He posted on Twitter, “I lost my father to the politics of hate and division. I will not lose my beloved country to it too.”
In Kanyakumari, Rahul will visit Thiruvalluvar, Vivekananda, and Kamaraj memorials before attending a prayer meeting at the Mahatma Gandhi mandapam, according to reports. He will then receive the national flag from Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin before walking to the seaside venue of the public rally, where the yatra will be formally launched in the presence of top Congress leaders, including its two chief ministers — Rajasthan’s Ashok Gehlot and Chhattisgarh’s Bhupesh Baghel.
According to schedule, the yatra will start from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu and then move northwards, passing through Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Nilambur, Mysuru, Bellary, Raichur, Vikarabad, Nanded, Jalgaon, Indore, Kota, Dausa, Alwar, Bulandshahr, Delhi, Ambala, Pathankot and Jammu, before culminating in Srinagar.
“There is a lot of enthusiasm and excitement among the Congress workers across the country,” Congress MP Jairam Ramesh told news agency PTI.
Ramesh, as well as other Congress leaders, have dubbed the yatra the “largest” mass mobilisation effort in independent India and the “longest” yatra undertaken by any party.
The Congress has underlined that the yatra was not being held with any particular election in mind but to “unify” India, with Rahul Gandhi earlier saying that it is being taken out to combat polarisation and political centralisation in the country, according to NDTV.
During the 150-day long ‘padyatra’, Rahul Gandhi and other Congress leaders accompanying him will not stay in hotels and will opt to stay in ‘containers’, some of which have been fitted with toilets, beds and air conditioners, according to reports. (With media inputs)
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Cover photo: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi greeted by K C Venugopal as he arrives in Kanyakumari to launch Bharat Jodo Yatra. — Express photo