The Bharat Jodo Yatra, spearheaded by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, entered Delhi Saturday morning. He was accorded a warm welcome at the Badarpur border. Congress top brass and a huge number of party workers welcomed Gandhi at the Delhi border in Badarpur. Senior party leaders, including former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Kumari Selja, Randeep Surjewala, Shaktisinh Gohil and others were conspicuous by their presence while the Yatra entered Delhi.
Accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Gandhi said, while addressing a gathering at the Delhi border, they spread hatred and the Congress spread love, embracing all Indians and added: “There is Hindustan and ‘Mohabbat’ (love) in this Bharat Jodo Yatra, which does not see any caste, creed, religion, rich or poor and all embrace each other,” reported PTI.
‘Spreading hatred’
The BJP and RSS have spread “hatred” and the Bharat Jodo Yatra aims to unite people through love across India, he said.
Gandhi said he has walked from Kanyakumari and observed no hatred across the country, and alleged that a handful of people are spreading the hatred while the majority of Indians talk of uniting people.
“As I had said a few days ago that in this market of hatred, we will open up a shop to spread love in society, every Indian should open a small shop to spread love. You would have seen there is no hatred in this yatra,” Gandhi added. He also thanked the “lakhs of people” who provided love and support to the Bharat Jodo Yatra.
Starting from the Badarpur border, the entry point of the Yatra in the national capital, and ending at Red Fort, having a two-hour break at Ashram in the afternoon, the Bharat Jodo Yatra will cover around 23 km stretch in Delhi. It will pass through Nizamuddin, India Gate, ITO, Delhi Gate and Daryaganj. After a day-long march through the national capital, the Yatra will stop for around 9 days before resuming on January 3. The Bharat Jodo Yatra is on its 108th day and has covered around 3,000 km in 46 districts criss-crossing nine states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Telengana, Andra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Haryana.
Yatra jolts traffic
According to a PTI report, traffic in the national capital was affected in some parts of southeast Delhi as the Bharat Jodo Yatra entered the city Saturday morning. Central Delhi may witness traffic snarls later in the day when the Yatra moves towards the Red Fort through the Mathura road, India Gate and ITO.
Meanwhile, the traffic police had issued an advisory on Friday cautioning commuters about the routes that could be affected by the Yatra. The advisory of the traffic police had said the Yatra would reach Jai Dev Ashram near Ashram Chowk around 10.30 am and will end at the Red Fort around 4.30 pm. Scores of pedestrians and a huge number of vehicles are likely to join the Yatra at various points along the route.