Congress MP Rahul Gandhi will not be part of the events being organised by the Congress party to commemorate one year of Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra. Rahul, who is on a five-day trip to Europe, is currently in the Belgian capital of Brussels where he is scheduled to meet members of the European Parliament. 

Back home, the Congress has planned a slew of rallies, across the country to mark the day the former party president set off on an arduous 4,000-km journey from Kanyakumari to Kashmir. 

Also read: G20 Summit in Delhi: Banks, schools, colleges shut; Traffic advisory issued – Know what’s open and what’s closed in National Capital

The party is organising foot marches in 722 places across the country which will see the participation of members of the Congress Working Committee, state Congress presidents, and Congress Legislature Party leaders in these Bharat Jodo padayatras to recreate the central message of the yatra. 

Each of these small yatras will culminate in a Bharat Jodo rally in districts. The party also plans to embark on another Bharat Jodo Yatra in the near future, though there is still no clarity on the timing. The Indian Express cited sources as saying that the second leg of the Bharat Jodo Yatra, from west to east, could happen closer to the Lok Sabha elections, perhaps after the five state elections in November-December. 

In Delhi, the party unit is also set to take out rallies today in all districts of Delhi. “Rallies will be taken out in all the districts at 5 pm and every leader of the Delhi Congress will participate in those”, former MLA Mukesh Sharma said while addressing a press conference on Tuesday.

Also Read: Lok Sabha Election 2024: When RBI rejected Modi govt’s bid to ‘extract’ Rs 3 lakh crore ahead of 2019 polls

Even though people will be celebrating Janmashtami on September 7, Sharma added, “There is tremendous enthusiasm among Congress workers and the general public for the Bharat Jodo Yatra anniversary rallies.”

Sharma said that DPCC president Arvinder Singh Lovely held meetings with party workers regarding the upcoming rallies and preparations, and asked the party’s district unit commanders to encourage maximum participation of Congress workers..

Earlier this week, Congress announced its intention to conduct ‘padyatras’ in 722 districts on September 7 in order to celebrate the launch of the Bharat Jodo Yatra a year ago.

The Bharat Jodo Yatra, that was initiated by Rahul Gandhi on September 7, 2022, covered 4,081 kilometers across 12 states, two Union territories, 75 districts, and 76 Lok Sabha constituencies, featuring numerous meetings, group interactions, press conferences, and addressed pressing national issues.

Also read: Idea of ‘one nation, one election’ an attack on Indian Union and all its states: Rahul Gandhi

“Bharat Jodo Yatra had an electrifying effect all over India and on our cadre,” Congress general secretary K C Venugopal said.

Film and Television celebrities such as Kamal Haasan, Pooja Bhatt, Riya Sen, Swara Bhasker, Rashami Desai, Akanksha Puri, and Amol Palekar also participated.

In addition, writers and military veterans, such as former Army Chief Gen (Retd) Deepak Kapoor and ex-Navy Chief Admiral (Retd) L Ramdas, as well as prominent figures such as former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan and ex-Finance Secretary Arvind Mayaram, took part in the yatra.

Opposition figures such as Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah of the National Conference, Mehbooba Mufti of the PDP, Aaditya Thackeray of the Shiv Sena, Priyanka Chaturvedi of the Shiv Sena, and Sanjay Raut of the NCP walked alongside Gandhi.