Rahul Gandhi, Congress leaders embark on ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ from Kanyakumari, to undertake 3,570 km journey until Kashmir
13 min readBy Online Desk
KANYAKUMARI: Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, together with a number of celebration leaders, launched into the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ from right here on Thursday, marking the start of a difficult journey by way of which the celebration is searching for to succeed in out to folks and rejuvenate its organisation.
Ahead of the beginning of the padayatra, Gandhi hoisted the nationwide flag on the campsite of the Bharat Yatris, who will stroll with him by way of the three,570 km journey from Kanyakumari to Kashmir.
Gandhi started the padayatra from Agasteeswaram right here, together with 118 ‘Bharat Yatris’ in addition to different celebration leaders from throughout the nation.
Gandhi on Wednesday had flagged off the celebration’s formidable ‘Bharat Jodo yatra with an assertion that he won’t lose his nation to hate and accused the BJP-RSS of making an attempt to divide the nation on non secular strains.
Eyeing the revival of the crisis-ridden celebration forward of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, celebration chief Sonia Gandhi had described the march as a “landmark occasion” and hoped that the march would assist rejuvenate the grand previous celebration.
The march would cowl 12 states and two Union Territories in about 5 months.
The march will transfer in two batches from 7 am to 10:30 am and from 3:30 pm to six:30 pm.
While the morning session will embody fewer members, the night session will see mass mobilisation.
The members plan to stroll round 22-23 km every day.
About 30 per cent of ‘Bharat Yatris’ are girls.
The common age of Bharat Yatris is 38.
About 50,000 residents have additionally registered to take part within the Yatra.
After reaching Kerala on September 11, the Yatra will traverse by way of the state for the following 18 days, reaching Karnataka on September 30.
It will probably be in Karnataka for 21 days earlier than transferring north.
ALSO READ | BJP Rath Yatra was for ‘satta’, Congress’ Bharat Jodo Yatra is for ‘satya’: Kanhaiya Kumar
It will cross by way of Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Nilambur, Mysuru, Bellary, Raichur, Vikarabad, Nanded, Jalgaon, Indore, Kota, Dausa, Alwar, Bulandshahr, Delhi, Ambala, Pathankot, Jammu, and finish in Srinagar.
Rahul on Tuesday stated the nationwide flag is “under attack” from the BJP and the RSS who see it as their “personal property”, as he accused them of dividing India on the strains of faith and language.
Speaking on the launch of the Congress’s 3,570-km ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ at a sea aspect rally venue right here, he stated each single establishment of the nation is beneath assault with the BJP and the RSS trying to frighten the Opposition through the use of the Enforcement Directorate, the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Income Tax Department.
“The problem is that they do not understand the Indian people. Indian people do not get scared. Does not matter how many hours of interrogation they do, does not matter. Not a single Opposition leader is going to be scared of the BJP,” he asserted.
Gandhi alleged that India is dealing with its worst-ever financial disaster together with the very best unemployment fee ever and the nation is headed in the direction of a catastrophe.
He stated thousands and thousands of individuals really feel there’s a have to take motion to carry the nation collectively and that’s the reason the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ is being undertaken.
The BJP thinks that it might probably divide this nation alongside non secular strains, its languages, Gandhi alleged and asserted that this nation will at all times stay united.
“Some people, they look at the flag and they see three colours, a chakra and a piece of cloth and they salute the flag. But. This is much more than that.”
“And this flag did not come easily. It was not given to us. It was not a gift. It was earned by the Indian people,” Gandhi stated amid chants of ‘Rahul, Rahul’ from 1000’s of supporters who thronged the scenic venue close to the confluence of the Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal.
Senior celebration leaders similar to Ashok Gehlot and Mallikarjun Kharge highlighted Gandhi’s phrases earlier within the day after he paid floral tributes to his father and former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi on the latter’s memorial in Sriperumbudur, and flagged the ills of “hate and division”.
“I lost my father to the politics of hate and division. I will not lose my beloved country to it too. Love will conquer hate. Hope will defeat fear. Together, we will overcome,” Rahul had stated on Twitter.
Gandhi has been categorised as a “Bharat Yatri” and is about to stroll the entire 3,570 km distance, together with 118 different leaders, from right here to Kashmir, in what the celebration has touted as the largest mass contact programme ever undertaken by it in unbiased India.
ALSO READ | ‘Will work beneath Rahul Gandhi’: Gehlot on Congress management disaster forward of ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’
The yatra might take a break of a day or two when Gandhi goes for the marketing campaign in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh meeting polls, yatra organisation panel chief Digvijaya Singh informed a press convention.
In his remarks on the rally, Gandhi stated the tricolour represents each citizen of the nation and the faith and language of each individual.
“This flag was not earned by one person, it was earned by every single Indian person,” he stated.
“This flag does not belong to any state, it belongs to every single state. It does not belong to any religion, any community, any language, it belongs to every religion, every community, and every language,” he stated.
Gandhi stated the flag ensures each single Indian individual safety on this nation, a free and honest life, the correct to apply any faith, and communicate any language they need.
“This flag is under attack. India is not the imposition of one idea on its people. India is the history, the language, the culture of every single person,” he stated.
Gandhi informed the gathering it isn’t sufficient to only salute the flag, you will need to defend the concepts and the values behind the flag.
He alleged all establishments within the nation are beneath assault by the BJP and the RSS.
“They think that this flag is their personal property. They think, they can determine single-handedly, the future of the people of this country, the future of all the states of this country,” he stated.
Explaining the thought behind the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’, Gandhi stated, “It is very important that we bring the people of India together and make sure they are united so that India remains strong. And that is the aim of the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ which is designed to listen to the people of India.”
“We do not want to crush the voice of the people of India like the RSS and the BJP do,” he stated.
Unlike the BJP and the RSS, he stated, “We want to listen to the wisdom of the people of India.”
In his practically 30-minute speech, Gandhi claimed India is dealing with its worst-ever financial disaster, the very best stage of unemployment and the nation is heading in the direction of a catastrophe.
ALSO READ | ‘Yatra can obtain each Bharat Jodo and Congress Jodo’: Shashi Tharoor on celebration’s management disaster
He alleged the BJP authorities has systematically attacked farmers, labourers and small and medium companies within the nation.
“A handful of large businesses control the entire country today. Ports, airports, coal, power, telecom, and every single industry is controlled by a handful of businessmen.”
“The prime minister would not last one day without their support. They control the media and they ensure that the prime minister is on the television screen all day. And in exchange, the prime minister carries out policies that are in their interest,” he charged.
Demonetisation, a “flawed” Goods and Services Tax regime and the three “anti-farmer” legal guidelines have been the three issues they wanted to make sure they remained in enterprise, Gandhi stated.
“The idea is very similar to what the British used to do. Divide India, make Indians fight with each other and then steal from the Indian people. Those days it used to be called the East India Company. It was one company that controlled all of India. Today, there are three-four companies that control the whole of India,” he alleged.
Gandhi additionally thanked Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Okay Stalin for becoming a member of him on the rally.
In a symbolic gesture on the graduation of ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra,’ Stalin handed over the nationwide flag to Gandhi and each the leaders saluted the tricolour.
Earlier, Stalin welcomed him right here and joined the Congress chief within the prayer meet on the Gandhi Memorial right here.
Chief Ministers of Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, Ashok Gehlot and Bhupesh Baghel respectively and Tamil Nadu Congress Committee President Okay S Alagiri took half within the prayer session, the undercurrent of which was nationwide unity and brotherhood.
Gandhi held the nationwide flag in his arms and walked down the seashore highway from the Gandhi Memorial to the rally venue, accompanied by his celebration leaders and staff.
“The Tricolour is the identity of our unity and diversity, our self-respect. Today, taking the Tricolour in hand, took the first step of Bharat Jodo Yatra. Have to walk for miles, let’s together unite our India,” he stated in a tweet.
Earlier, the Congress chief visited the mammoth Thiruvalluvar statue and the enduring Vivekananda Rock Memorial.
He additionally paid tributes to veteran Congress chief at Okay Kamraj at his memorial.
(With PTI Inputs)
KANYAKUMARI: Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, together with a number of celebration leaders, launched into the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ from right here on Thursday, marking the start of a difficult journey by way of which the celebration is searching for to succeed in out to folks and rejuvenate its organisation.
Ahead of the beginning of the padayatra, Gandhi hoisted the nationwide flag on the campsite of the Bharat Yatris, who will stroll with him by way of the three,570 km journey from Kanyakumari to Kashmir.
Gandhi started the padayatra from Agasteeswaram right here, together with 118 ‘Bharat Yatris’ in addition to different celebration leaders from throughout the nation.
Gandhi on Wednesday had flagged off the celebration’s formidable ‘Bharat Jodo yatra with an assertion that he won’t lose his nation to hate and accused the BJP-RSS of making an attempt to divide the nation on non secular strains.
Eyeing the revival of the crisis-ridden celebration forward of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, celebration chief Sonia Gandhi had described the march as a “landmark occasion” and hoped that the march would assist rejuvenate the grand previous celebration.
The march would cowl 12 states and two Union Territories in about 5 months.
The march will transfer in two batches from 7 am to 10:30 am and from 3:30 pm to six:30 pm.
While the morning session will embody fewer members, the night session will see mass mobilisation.
The members plan to stroll round 22-23 km every day.
About 30 per cent of ‘Bharat Yatris’ are girls.
The common age of Bharat Yatris is 38.
About 50,000 residents have additionally registered to take part within the Yatra.
After reaching Kerala on September 11, the Yatra will traverse by way of the state for the following 18 days, reaching Karnataka on September 30.
It will probably be in Karnataka for 21 days earlier than transferring north.
ALSO READ | BJP Rath Yatra was for ‘satta’, Congress’ Bharat Jodo Yatra is for ‘satya’: Kanhaiya Kumar
It will cross by way of Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Nilambur, Mysuru, Bellary, Raichur, Vikarabad, Nanded, Jalgaon, Indore, Kota, Dausa, Alwar, Bulandshahr, Delhi, Ambala, Pathankot, Jammu, and finish in Srinagar.
Rahul on Tuesday stated the nationwide flag is “under attack” from the BJP and the RSS who see it as their “personal property”, as he accused them of dividing India on the strains of faith and language.
Speaking on the launch of the Congress’s 3,570-km ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ at a sea aspect rally venue right here, he stated each single establishment of the nation is beneath assault with the BJP and the RSS trying to frighten the Opposition through the use of the Enforcement Directorate, the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Income Tax Department.
“The problem is that they do not understand the Indian people. Indian people do not get scared. Does not matter how many hours of interrogation they do, does not matter. Not a single Opposition leader is going to be scared of the BJP,” he asserted.
Gandhi alleged that India is dealing with its worst-ever financial disaster together with the very best unemployment fee ever and the nation is headed in the direction of a catastrophe.
He stated thousands and thousands of individuals really feel there’s a have to take motion to carry the nation collectively and that’s the reason the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ is being undertaken.
The BJP thinks that it might probably divide this nation alongside non secular strains, its languages, Gandhi alleged and asserted that this nation will at all times stay united.
“Some people, they look at the flag and they see three colours, a chakra and a piece of cloth and they salute the flag. But. This is much more than that.”
“And this flag did not come easily. It was not given to us. It was not a gift. It was earned by the Indian people,” Gandhi stated amid chants of ‘Rahul, Rahul’ from 1000’s of supporters who thronged the scenic venue close to the confluence of the Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal.
Senior celebration leaders similar to Ashok Gehlot and Mallikarjun Kharge highlighted Gandhi’s phrases earlier within the day after he paid floral tributes to his father and former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi on the latter’s memorial in Sriperumbudur, and flagged the ills of “hate and division”.
“I lost my father to the politics of hate and division. I will not lose my beloved country to it too. Love will conquer hate. Hope will defeat fear. Together, we will overcome,” Rahul had stated on Twitter.
Gandhi has been categorised as a “Bharat Yatri” and is about to stroll the entire 3,570 km distance, together with 118 different leaders, from right here to Kashmir, in what the celebration has touted as the largest mass contact programme ever undertaken by it in unbiased India.
ALSO READ | ‘Will work beneath Rahul Gandhi’: Gehlot on Congress management disaster forward of ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’
The yatra might take a break of a day or two when Gandhi goes for the marketing campaign in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh meeting polls, yatra organisation panel chief Digvijaya Singh informed a press convention.
In his remarks on the rally, Gandhi stated the tricolour represents each citizen of the nation and the faith and language of each individual.
“This flag was not earned by one person, it was earned by every single Indian person,” he stated.
“This flag does not belong to any state, it belongs to every single state. It does not belong to any religion, any community, any language, it belongs to every religion, every community, and every language,” he stated.
Gandhi stated the flag ensures each single Indian individual safety on this nation, a free and honest life, the correct to apply any faith, and communicate any language they need.
“This flag is under attack. India is not the imposition of one idea on its people. India is the history, the language, the culture of every single person,” he stated.
Gandhi informed the gathering it isn’t sufficient to only salute the flag, you will need to defend the concepts and the values behind the flag.
He alleged all establishments within the nation are beneath assault by the BJP and the RSS.
“They think that this flag is their personal property. They think, they can determine single-handedly, the future of the people of this country, the future of all the states of this country,” he stated.
Explaining the thought behind the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’, Gandhi stated, “It is very important that we bring the people of India together and make sure they are united so that India remains strong. And that is the aim of the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ which is designed to listen to the people of India.”
“We do not want to crush the voice of the people of India like the RSS and the BJP do,” he stated.
Unlike the BJP and the RSS, he stated, “We want to listen to the wisdom of the people of India.”
In his practically 30-minute speech, Gandhi claimed India is dealing with its worst-ever financial disaster, the very best stage of unemployment and the nation is heading in the direction of a catastrophe.
ALSO READ | ‘Yatra can obtain each Bharat Jodo and Congress Jodo’: Shashi Tharoor on celebration’s management disaster
He alleged the BJP authorities has systematically attacked farmers, labourers and small and medium companies within the nation.
“A handful of large businesses control the entire country today. Ports, airports, coal, power, telecom, and every single industry is controlled by a handful of businessmen.”
“The prime minister would not last one day without their support. They control the media and they ensure that the prime minister is on the television screen all day. And in exchange, the prime minister carries out policies that are in their interest,” he charged.
Demonetisation, a “flawed” Goods and Services Tax regime and the three “anti-farmer” legal guidelines have been the three issues they wanted to make sure they remained in enterprise, Gandhi stated.
“The idea is very similar to what the British used to do. Divide India, make Indians fight with each other and then steal from the Indian people. Those days it used to be called the East India Company. It was one company that controlled all of India. Today, there are three-four companies that control the whole of India,” he alleged.
Gandhi additionally thanked Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Okay Stalin for becoming a member of him on the rally.
In a symbolic gesture on the graduation of ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra,’ Stalin handed over the nationwide flag to Gandhi and each the leaders saluted the tricolour.
Earlier, Stalin welcomed him right here and joined the Congress chief within the prayer meet on the Gandhi Memorial right here.
Chief Ministers of Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, Ashok Gehlot and Bhupesh Baghel respectively and Tamil Nadu Congress Committee President Okay S Alagiri took half within the prayer session, the undercurrent of which was nationwide unity and brotherhood.
Gandhi held the nationwide flag in his arms and walked down the seashore highway from the Gandhi Memorial to the rally venue, accompanied by his celebration leaders and staff.
“The Tricolour is the identity of our unity and diversity, our self-respect. Today, taking the Tricolour in hand, took the first step of Bharat Jodo Yatra. Have to walk for miles, let’s together unite our India,” he stated in a tweet.
Earlier, the Congress chief visited the mammoth Thiruvalluvar statue and the enduring Vivekananda Rock Memorial.
He additionally paid tributes to veteran Congress chief at Okay Kamraj at his memorial.
(With PTI Inputs)
