Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said that the spirit of the Bharat Jodo Yatra is “to listen” as he began the Punjab leg for his march from Kanyakumari to Kashmir.
“We don’t give long speeches in this yatra. This yatra is not about speaking but listening. We wake up at 6 am, walk for about 25 km & listen to all of you for 6-7 hours. After that, we keep forth our views for 10-15 minutes. The spirit of this yatra is ‘to listen’,” Gandhi said addressing people at Sirhind in Fatehgarh Sahib.
The Gandhi scion also blamed the BJP for the “deteriorating atmosphere” in the country and said that through the yatra, the Congress wants to show the path of “love, unity and brotherhood” to the nation.
“An atmosphere of hatred has been spread in the country. The BJP and RSS people are dividing the country, putting one religion against the other, one caste against the other, one language against the other… And they have spoiled the atmosphere of the country,” Gandhi said at Fatehgarh Sahib, from where the Punjab leg of the yatra began.
“Therefore, we thought that the country needs to show another path, which is of love, unity and brotherhood, this is why we started this Yatra,” the MP from Kerala’s Wayanad added.
Gandhi was accompanied by state Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa, Haryana Congress chief Bhupinder Singh Hooda, and former Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, among others, as the yatra began in Punjab.
Before beginning the Punjab leg of the yatra, Gandhi, sporting a turban and a white t-shirt, paid obeisance at Gurdwara Fatehgarh Sahib.
The yatra, which started from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu on September 7, and has so far covered 11 states, will conclude in Srinagar by January 30, with Gandhi hoisting the national flag.
On Tuesday, Gandhi offered prayers at the Golden Temple in Amritsar after concluding the Haryana leg of the yatra.
(With agency inputs)