Congress will launch its offensive, a political tour or rally named 'Bharat Jodo Yatra', against the ruling Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) on Wednesday, September 7. The Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra will begin today from Tamil Nadu's Kanyakumari at 5 pm. The Yatra will be officially launched today though the foot march will start from tomorrow.
Congress is touting Bharat Jodo Yatra as its biggest mass contact programme since Independence and a "turning point" in India's political history. Though with multiple assembly elections due this and next year and the 2024 Lok Sabha election in near sight, Congres is saying that Bharat Jodo Yatra is only aimed at "uniting India".
Ahead of the 3570 km long yatra launch, Rahul Gandhi will visit and attend a prayer gathering at the Sriperumbudur memorial, near Chennai, the site of the assassination of his father Rajiv Gandhi in 1991.
He will then reach Kanyakumari and will visit the Thiruvalluvar memorial, Vivekananda memorial and Kamaraj memorial before attending a prayer meeting at the Mahatma Gandhi mandapam.
Former Congress president will then receive a made-in-India Khadi flag from Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin and hand it over to Seva Dal workers, who will manage the yatra throughout its 3,570-km route from Kanyakumari to Kashmir.
All the top Congress leaders, including its two chief ministers — Rajasthan’s Ashok Gehlot and Chhattisgarh’s Bhupesh Baghel — will be part of the kick-off event in Kanyakumari.
"The party is focused and geared up for making the Bharat Jodo Yatra successful because it is the largest mass mobilisation programme that it has undertaken in independent India," Jairam Ramesh said ahead of the Bharat Jodo Yatra's launch.
"For the past eight years, our country has gone back in all sectors and this yatra is not just a Congress yatra but for all those who are opposing the Centre. Hence Congress is taking the lead with Gandhi and when it reaches Kashmir the people of the country will strongly take on the Modi government which has brought trouble for the people," Congress General Secretary, K C Venugopal said.
Bharat Jodo Yatra
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.
The yatra will have 118 permanent members and will crisscross the country covering over 3,750 km through 12 states and reach its destination in 150 days.