The Bharat Jodo Yatra, a mass outreach program of the Congress led by Rahul Gandhi, resumed on Tuesday after a nine-day break. This time, the Congress leader undertook one of the longest stretch of the rally — from Hanuman Mandir near Delhi's Kashmere Gate to Ghaziabad — a distance of nearly 17 km. It was definitely testing for the participants.
So, what made this arduous leg of the Bharat Jodo Yatra bearable? The answer is 'Second Wife Dhaba'!
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh, the in charge of communications in the party, shared that the non-stop 17 km long march was one of the longest that the Yatra had undertaken in the past 108 days. Despite his body calling for rest, Ramesh's mind was determined to complete the journey, with the help of a break point called 'Second Wife Dhaba'.
Ramesh tweeted, "Today Bharat Jodo Yatra resumed after a 9-day break from Hanuman Mandir near Delhi's Kashmere Gate. The nonstop 17km march to Ghaziabad was one of the longest in the past 108 days."
“My body was reluctant, my mind was determined. Determination prevailed & this break point helped,” he added.
Chairman of the Congress's media and publicity department Pawan Khera, too, shared the photo and said, “Must say some Dhabas have unusually catchy names. Here’s one I just saw in Baghpat.”
The march, which began in Kanyakumari on September 7, has previously passed through Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, and Delhi.
As it resumed on Tuesday, Amarjit Singh Dulat, a former chief of the Research and Analysis Wing and former special director of the Indian Intelligence Bureau, joined Gandhi in the Uttar Pradesh leg of the yatra. Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi also joined the yatra in Seelampur.
Once the Yatra entered UP, Rahul Gandhi was joined by J&K National Conference chairman Farooq Abdullah.
The UP Police had issued guidelines ahead of the Yatra's entry into the state, to ensure that "common people do not have any problem in communication".