 "Rahul Gandhi to undertake 'Manipur to Mumbai' Bharat Nyay Yatra from Jan 14")
Ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is set to lead the Bharat Nyay Yatra from Manipur to Mumbai, starting on January 14.
The yatra will cover a distance of 6,200 km and will conclude on March 20, 2024, traversing 85 districts of 14 states. The yatra will pass through Nagaland, Assam, Meghalaya, Bihar, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Gujarat before finally arriving in Maharashtra.
Addressing a press conference on Wednesday, Congress general secretary K C Venugopal said that this will be a bus yatra with maximum access to the people on the way, adding that a few stretches of walking will also be a part of the journey.
Venugopal said this yatra comes after Gandhi's great experience from the first Bharat Jodo Yatra. "The yatra is going to interact with youth, women and marginalised people," he added.
He further said that the reason behind the grand old party picking Manipur to begin the Yatra was to “heal the wounds” of the people of that state.
He further said that the reason behind the grand old party picking Manipur to begin the Yatra was to “heal the wounds” of the people of that state.
Addressing the media along with Venugopal, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh also noted that December 28 is the foundation day of the grand old party. On this occasion, he said, "Hain Tayyar Hum" rally has been organised in Nagpur.
"Party leaders and workers from across the country will be present there," Ramesh said, adding that "preparations for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections are underway."
'Duplicity in approaches'
The BJP, on the other hand, took a jibe at the Congress announcement and said the people had rejected the idea of Bharat Jodo Yatra.
"The people of India had clearly rejected the idea of Bharat Jodo Yatra because Rahul Gandhi and the Congress cannot have duplicity in these approaches. They think the people of India can be fooled by coining some slogans," said BJP spokesperson Nalin Kohli.
"The real nyay [justice] is being delivered by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government since 2014," he added.
Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra
Rahul Gandhi underwent the first iteration of the Bharat Jodo Yatra from Kanyakumari to Kashmir from September 7, 2022, to January 30, this year. The primary objective of this yatra was to unite India against the divisive politics of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). It was also aimed at addressing other issues like unemployment and inequality.
Gandhi covered a distance of around 4,080 kilometres when the yatra concluded in Srinagar in January this year. The Bharat Jodo Yatra was India's longest foot march as the yatra had passed through 75 districts across 12 states in 136 days.
The yatra received an overwhelming response from the public and eminent professionals from all walks of life.
It also saw the participation of personalities such as former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajan, ex-Finance Secretary Arvind Mayaram, former Army Chief General (Retd) Deepak Kapoor, Tamil superstar Kamal Haasan, Pooja Bhatt, and Amol Palekar.
Opposition leaders, including Mehbooba Mufti, Aaditya Thackeray, Sanjay Raut and Supriya Sule, also walked alongside Rahul Gandhi at various points of time during the march.