Under consideration: Congress on Bharat Jodo Yatra 2.0

PTI, Sep 17, 2023, 10:11 AM IST

The Congress on Saturday said Bharat Jodo Yatra 2.0 is “under consideration” with some CWC members requesting that it be undertaken from the eastern part of the country to the west.

Addressing a briefing on the deliberations of the first meeting of the reconstituted Congress Working Committee (CWC) here, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram said members of the party’s top decision-making body have requested to organise ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra 2.0 from east to west’.

“That matter is under consideration,” he said in response to a question about organising the second edition of the Bharat Jodo Yatra.

Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi had undertaken the Bharat Jodo Yatra from Kanyakumari to Kashmir from September 7, 2022, to January 30 this year.

In a resolution, the CWC said it proudly celebrates the first anniversary of the Bharat Jodo Yatra from Kanyakumari to Kashmir under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi.

It described the yatra as a “transformational moment in the nation’s politics to unite the people against the forces that are dividing India, to raise the voices of the people against growing inequality, falling incomes, rising youth unemployment and the sky-high prices of essential commodities, and to resist the growing authoritarianism, the capture of democratic institutions and the attack on our federal structure’.

The CWC resolved that the party organisation at all levels will continue to take forward the spirit, sentiment and purpose of the Bharat Jodo Yatra and keep it alive in every part of the country.

The Congress’ top decision-making body also alleged that it is ‘abundantly clear that the disqualification of (Rahul) Gandhi as a Member of Parliament was an act of political vendetta by the prime minister’. It expressed deep satisfaction in his restoration to the position, saying truth and justice have triumphed.

Congress leaders have said Gandhi’s 136-day march, covering 4,081 kilometres in 12 states and two Union territories, 75 districts and 76 Lok Sabha constituencies, left an indelible impression on people’s minds.

During the course of the yatra, Gandhi addressed 12 public meetings, more than 100 street-corner meetings and 13 press conferences. He had over 275 planned walking interactions and more than 100 sitting interactions.

Several experts had said a big takeaway from the yatra for the Congress had been Gandhi’s image transformation.

With over 4,000 kilometres under his belt, Gandhi had managed to catch the attention of his supporters as well as detractors. The march saw participation from a cross-section of society, including film and TV celebrities such as Kamal Haasan, Pooja Bhatt, Riya Sen, Swara Bhasker, Rashami Desai, Akanksha Puri and Amol Palekar.

Besides, writers and military veterans, including former Army chief Gen (Retd) Deepak Kapoor and ex-Navy chief Admiral (Retd) L Ramdas, and noted people such as former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan and ex-finance secretary Arvind Mayaram had also participated in the yatra.

Opposition leaders such as National Conference’s Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah, PDP’s Mehbooba Mufti, Shiv Sena’s Aaditya Thackeray, Priyanka Chaturvedi and Sanjay Raut and NCP’s Supriya Sule, had also walked alongside Gandhi at various points in time during the march.