Congress To Organise Yatras Across Karnataka Before 2023 Assembly Elections

Congress general secretary in-charge of Karnataka Randeep Surjewala, who is participating in the Bharat Jodo Yatra, said the party would organise three yatras in the next few months

As the Congress' countrywide Bharat Jodo Yatra passed through Karnataka, the party said on Sunday it would organise similar foot marches in the state to reach out to all sections of society ahead of next year's assembly polls.

Congress general secretary in-charge of Karnataka Randeep Surjewala, who is participating in the Bharat Jodo Yatra, said the party would organise three yatras in the next few months covering every assembly constituency in the state.

"We will undertake yatras in the state covering all three regions and every constituency and will reach out to people to highlight the failures of 'this 40 per cent commission government," he said, taking a swipe at the BJP dispensation in the state.

He said the Congress will unite India which the BJP seeks to divide and will strive for promoting peace and brotherhood in society.

He said the BJP has been trying to divide society on the basis of caste, creed and religion, and cited several states where the party has pitted one community against another for electoral gains.

"The aim of this communal divide is only to garner votes," he charged.

The Bharat Jodo Yatra entered its 32nd day on Sunday and completed over 700 km. The yatra started from Kanyakumari on September 7 and will conclude in Kashmir, completing 3,500 km and passing through 12 states.

"We will make and they (the BJP) will break it. The BJP divides society by spreading hatred and we will try to unite people with love and affection.... They will destroy communal harmony and we will work towards spreading love and brotherhood in society," Surjewala said.

The Congress leader alleged that the BJP is trying to break the society just as the British and the East India company had done before Independence.

Surjewala said Rahul Gandhi has promised to provide minimum support price (MSP) for coconut in Karnataka and increase the procurement of ragi under MSP which the BJP government is not doing.

Surjewala said taking part in the yatra was a learning experience for him. For Rahul Gandhi too, communicating with people from all walks of life directly on the road was a new experience, he added.