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Bharat Jodo Yatra: Congress’s talisman, mockery for BJP | India News – Times of India

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Bharat Jodo Yatra: Congress’s talisman, mockery for BJP | India News – Times of India


NEW DELHI: Bharat Jodo Yatra, kicked off by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu on September 7, may be the last resort for the party’s revival ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha election, but for the rival BJP it is a topic to mock the principal opposition party.
The Congress has put its heart, mind and soul in the 3,570-km Kanyakumari to Kashmir padyatra which comes about a month ahead of the crucial election for the post of party president on October 17. These two are the most significant events in the Congress calendar ahead of the next parliamentary election.
However, the BJP has sought to downplay the yatra which, the Congress leaders claim, is not political.
The Congress leaders and workers, who had hit the streets occasionally in June and July over the summoning of Rahul and party president Sonia Gandhi by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the alleged National Herald financial irregularity case, will be on a long padyatra for 150 days.
According to All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary in-charge of communications Jairam Ramesh, the Bharat Jodo Yatra was conceived by Sonia Gandhi at the party’s ‘Chintan Shivir’ held at Udaipur in Rajasthan in May.
However, it appears to have the signature of election strategist Prashant Kishor. He is learnt to have advised the Congress to organise a padyatra as one of the measures to rejuvenate the party.
Why the need for Bharat Jodo Yatra?
The Congress’s stocks have been falling in the last eight years. It has lost two Lok Sabha and majority of the assembly elections during this period proving that its mass support has drastically eroded. Besides, several of its leaders have quit the party, dealing a major blow to the strength and image of the party. These developments have demoralised the Congress workers.
The yatra, therefore, may be the last ditch effort by the Congress to win back the support of the masses and galvanise the party workers by instilling a sense of hope and confidence.
Jairam Ramesh said, “The party is focused on making Bharat Jodo Yatra successful because it is the largest mass mobilisation programme it has undertaken in Independent India… It is the longest yatra undertaken by the party. It’s a turning point in India’s political history. Padyatras have a significance of their own and this is transformational politics. This is what politics is about, not of abuse, vendetta and vilification.”
The Congress seems to be convinced that yatras do help political parties, be it by Mahatma Gandhi’s Dandi March, former prime minister Chandra Shekhar’s Kanyakumari to Rajghat padyatra, former PM Rajiv Gandhi’s Bharat Yatra in 1990, BJP veteran leader LK Advani’s rath yatra over Ram Janmabhoomi in Ayodhya or, more recently, Andhra Pradesh chief minister Jagan Mohan Reddy’s padyatra in 2017.
Though the South to North main Bharat Jodo Yatra will pass through 12 states and two Union territories before culminating in Srinagar, parallel yatras would be held in the other states as well. A East to West yatra may also be held later.
BJP’s opinion about Bharat Jodo Yatra
While the Bharat Jodo Yatra may be a ‘do or die’ effort for the Congress, it is a topic of ridicule for the BJP.
BJP president JP Nadda said, “They are talking of Bharat Jodo, Bharat Jodo. ‘Arrey pehle party toh jod lo’ (unite the party first).” He was obviously referring to several resignations of senior leaders from the party in recent years, the latest being Ghulam Nabi Azad.
Ramdas Athawale also echoed Nadda’s opinion. He said, “I think that instead of doing the Bharat Jodo Yatra, Rahul Gandhi ji should do a ‘Congress Jodo Yatra’. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is working to connect the country.”
BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra alleged that the Bharat Jodo Yatra was the “Save Gandhi Family Andolan”. He was apparently referring to the National Herald case in which Sonia and Rahul are accused persons out on bail.
Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai said Rahul Gandhi was known for “Bharat chhodo”. He advised Rahul to fill fuel in the cars in his convoy in the BJP-ruled states where they were cheaper. Annamalai said the yatra will disillusion Rahul when he sees the new India developed by PM Modi in the last eight years.
BJP-Congress war of words
Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma passed one of the most acerbic comments against the yatra. He said the yatra led by Rahul Gandhi was the “comedy of the century” as the country was one and united. “The country is united and integrated from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, from Silchar to Saurashtra and there is no need for the unification,” he said.
Sarma further said, “In 1947, the country was partitioned for the creation of Pakistan and later Bangladesh came into existence. If Rahul Gandhi has any regret or is apologetic for the problem created by his ancestors, then he should try to integrate Pakistan and Bangladesh with India for the creation of Akhand Bharat (undivided India).”
The Assam CM, who is a former Congress leader, said in a tweet, “The only time India was divided was in 1947 because Congress agreed to it. Rahul Gandhi should go to Pakistan for ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ if they want unification.”

Jairam Ramesh took exception to Sarma’s remarks. He said, “I don’t take the Assam CM seriously, because he has to prove his loyalty every day after having been a part of Congress for 20-25 years. He is a recent migrant to the BJP, so he has to make outrageous statements every day.”
In a personal attack, Ramesh said, “I think the Assam CM is boyish, immature.”
Not to be taken lightly, Sarma hit back. “First, tell me who Jairam Ramesh is. Is he someone who lives in Assam? Who is he? I have no idea. Who will remember the name of a Congress leader? I was never very close to any man with such a name when I was in Congress. I don’t even know who he is,” the Assam chief minister said.
Meanwhile, three categories of padyatris have been included to cover the length and breadth of the country. About 120 Bharat Yatris will walk from start to finish. About 100 Atithi (guest) Yatris will be from the states the yatra is not passing through. Finally, another 100 would be Pradesh Yatris from the states through which Bharat Jodo Yatra is passing. There would be over 300 padyatris at one point of time.
With the tagline ‘Miley kadam, judey watan’, there are three basic objectives of the Bharat Jodo Yatra.
1. To deal with the tremendous challenge of economic inequality. “Price rise, unemployment, GST (Goods and Sales Tax) have led to this form of inequality. The society is getting divided because of it,” said Jairam Ramesh.
2. Social polarisation in the name of caste, religion, language, food, dress, reading habits, eating habits and way of living.
3. Political division between the Centre and the states. “It also includes the alleged abuse of the Constitution, the misuse of investigative agencies, the growing centralisation of power in the Union government, making state governments, panchayats and nagar palikas irrelevant,” Ramesh added.





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