The Congress sees the rise in people’s connect with Rahul Gandhi established through the Bharat Jodo Yatra as one of the biggest achievements of the mass contact programme. As the Yatra finishes 100 days on the road today, party MP and general secretary in-charge of organisation, KC Venugopal on Friday said that common people are now realising the “real face” of Rahul Gandhi, and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is in “great difficulties”.
“Today this yatra has completed 100 days and it has turned out to be a huge success. Common people are now realizing the real face of Rahul Gandhi and that is why BJP is now in great difficulties,” Venugopal said in Rajasthan, as quoted by news agency ANI.
On Friday, Gandhi, along with Venugopal, former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot and other senior leaders of the party began the morning leg of the yatra from the Meena High Court in Dausa, Rajasthan.
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, his deputy Mukesh Agnihotri and HPCC president Pratibha Singh also walked alongside Rahul Gandhi today. Newly elected Himachal MLAs including Pratibha Singh’s son Vikramaditya Singh and AICC in-charge of the hill state Rajeev Shukla, also joined the yatra after the tea break during the morning session.
Bharat Jodo Yatra completes 100 days
The Bharat Jodo Yatra, which began September 7 in Tamil Nadu’s Kanyakumari has traversed eight states and covered 2,763 km so far. It has passed through Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh and is currently passing through Rajasthan.
It will enter Delhi on December 24, and after a break of about eight days, it will move on to Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab and Jammu before finally culminating in Jammu and Kashmir.
The yatra has so far seen the presence of several eminent personalities, including former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan, former Navy chief admiral L Ramdas, Opposition leaders such as Shiv Sena’s Aaditya Thackeray and NCP’s Supriya Sule, who have joined the march at various points.
Stars from the entertainment industry including Pooja Bhatt, Riya Sen, Sushant Singh, Swara Bhasker, Rashami Desai, Akanksha Puri and Amol Palekar, have also participated in the yatra.
Rahul writes letter about 100 prominent personalities
Ahead of the Yatra, Gandhi had written a personal letter to about 100 prominent personalities, including stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra and vocalist TM Krishna, inviting them to join the Bharat Jodo Yatra, saying that the march is “designed to awaken the nation’s conscience to crippling inequality, brutal social polarisation and violent authoritarianism,” reported The Indian Express.
“We listen to anyone who wants to be heard. We offer no judgment or opinion. We walk to unite every Indian regardless of their gender, caste or religion because we know they are equal citizens. We walk to fight hatred and fear,” the letter added.
Rahul said, “You can see that our beloved country has changed beyond recognition. Those who cherish India as a country of immense diversity — of religions, cultures, languages, food and music — can see the attempt to violently flatten its reality. Today, the state, the ruling party, and the public institutions that are meant to check and balance them, have merged into a single entity. I need not explain how dangerous this is.”
It further read, “(The) mainstream media has become an instrument that serves only the interest and destructive ideology of those in power. This artificial noise barrier has ensured that the voices of dissent, reason, tolerance and love are silenced. It is to overcome this barrier that we are walking from Kanyakumari to Kashmir. We are walking to listen to the voices of the people”.
Saying that thousands of people have “opened their homes and hearts to us”, the Congress leader wrote, “You, through all that you have done, are a valuable part of this conversation and I would very much like to listen to you and share our perspectives. It doesn’t matter whether we agree or disagree. It’s important that we talk and listen in freedom.”