News Analysis India

Tag: Bharat-Jodo Yatra

  • ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’: Congress releases list of ‘padyatris’; each Karnataka MLA to mobilise 5,000 people

    By PTI

    JAIPUR: Nine of 117 Congress leaders who will undertake a padyatra from Kanyakumari to Kashmir with former party chief Rahul Gandhi will be from Rajasthan.

    The Congress on Thursday released the list of the leaders who will be taking part in the Bharat Jodo Yatra.

    The yatra starting from September 7 will pass through Jhalawar, Kota, Dausa and Alwar districts of Rajasthan.

    Among those who have been taken as representatives from Rajasthan are Shravan Kumar Gurjar, Jhabar Sherawat, Sitaram Lamba, Yogesh Kumar Meena, Ruby Khan, Vivek Bhatnagar, Jagdish Bishnoi and Shatrughan Sharma.

    According to party sources, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot, state party president Dotasara are also likely to join Rahul Gandhi during the Rajasthan leg of the yatra.

    Karnataka Congress President D K Shivakumar on Thursday said each party MLA in the state has been asked to mobilise 5,000 people for the “Bharat Jodo” march that will take place for 21 days in the state.

    All sections of the society, also pro-Kannada groups, film personalities, writers, farmers and others are invited to participate in the march, in which citizens can register, he said.

    The KPCC chief was speaking to reporters after an office-bearers meeting to discuss the march, which was attended by senior leaders like Jairam Ramesh, Mallikarjun Kharge, Siddaramaiah among others.

    Ramesh said the march will cover 3,570 km across 12 states starting September 7.

    “This will be the Janata Ki Chintan yatra.There won’t be speeches or slogans against the PM. It will be a silent march to understand the problems of the people,” he said.

    “Those quitting the party can leave. Some are already at the departure lounge, making statements. Those wanting to go can go and those speaking can speak. But, the march will not stop for any reason.”

    Noting that the march will be based on the Congress’ ideology of secularism, Bharat Jodo planning group chief Digvijay Singh accused the BJP of indulging in ‘communal politics’.

    JAIPUR: Nine of 117 Congress leaders who will undertake a padyatra from Kanyakumari to Kashmir with former party chief Rahul Gandhi will be from Rajasthan.

    The Congress on Thursday released the list of the leaders who will be taking part in the Bharat Jodo Yatra.

    The yatra starting from September 7 will pass through Jhalawar, Kota, Dausa and Alwar districts of Rajasthan.

    Among those who have been taken as representatives from Rajasthan are Shravan Kumar Gurjar, Jhabar Sherawat, Sitaram Lamba, Yogesh Kumar Meena, Ruby Khan, Vivek Bhatnagar, Jagdish Bishnoi and Shatrughan Sharma.

    According to party sources, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot, state party president Dotasara are also likely to join Rahul Gandhi during the Rajasthan leg of the yatra.

    Karnataka Congress President D K Shivakumar on Thursday said each party MLA in the state has been asked to mobilise 5,000 people for the “Bharat Jodo” march that will take place for 21 days in the state.

    All sections of the society, also pro-Kannada groups, film personalities, writers, farmers and others are invited to participate in the march, in which citizens can register, he said.

    The KPCC chief was speaking to reporters after an office-bearers meeting to discuss the march, which was attended by senior leaders like Jairam Ramesh, Mallikarjun Kharge, Siddaramaiah among others.

    Ramesh said the march will cover 3,570 km across 12 states starting September 7.

    “This will be the Janata Ki Chintan yatra.There won’t be speeches or slogans against the PM. It will be a silent march to understand the problems of the people,” he said.

    “Those quitting the party can leave. Some are already at the departure lounge, making statements. Those wanting to go can go and those speaking can speak. But, the march will not stop for any reason.”

    Noting that the march will be based on the Congress’ ideology of secularism, Bharat Jodo planning group chief Digvijay Singh accused the BJP of indulging in ‘communal politics’.

  • Kanhaiya Kumar, Pawan Khera among ‘Bharat Yatris’ to walk 3,500 km during Congress’ foot march

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Congress leaders Kanhaiya Kumar, Pawan Khera and former Punjab minister Vijay Inder Singla feature in a tentative list of “Bharat Yatris”, who will walk throughout the 3,500-km stretch of the party’s Kanyakumari-to-Kashmir “Bharat Jodo Yatra” starting September 7.

    Former Youth Congress president Keshav Chandra Yadav and Vaibhav Walia, secretary of the communication department of the Uttarakhand Congress, besides a host of other young leaders will walk all along the yatra.

    Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi will flag off the yatra with a rally from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu in the evening of September 7.

    Gandhi will also walk for most part of the yatra while taking breaks for canvassing for the upcoming Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat Assembly elections.

    The Congress has drawn up a tentative list that features 117 leaders categorised as “Bharat Yatris”.

    Chairman of the yatra organising committee Digvijaya Singh had earlier explained the concept of Bharat Yatris, saying they will walk the entire stretch of 3,500 km passing through 12 states.

    Kanhaiya Kumar is a former president of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) and Khera is the chairman of the Congress’s media department.

    A number of women workers and leaders of the party will also be Bharat Yatris, sources said.

    NEW DELHI: Congress leaders Kanhaiya Kumar, Pawan Khera and former Punjab minister Vijay Inder Singla feature in a tentative list of “Bharat Yatris”, who will walk throughout the 3,500-km stretch of the party’s Kanyakumari-to-Kashmir “Bharat Jodo Yatra” starting September 7.

    Former Youth Congress president Keshav Chandra Yadav and Vaibhav Walia, secretary of the communication department of the Uttarakhand Congress, besides a host of other young leaders will walk all along the yatra.

    Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi will flag off the yatra with a rally from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu in the evening of September 7.

    Gandhi will also walk for most part of the yatra while taking breaks for canvassing for the upcoming Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat Assembly elections.

    The Congress has drawn up a tentative list that features 117 leaders categorised as “Bharat Yatris”.

    Chairman of the yatra organising committee Digvijaya Singh had earlier explained the concept of Bharat Yatris, saying they will walk the entire stretch of 3,500 km passing through 12 states.

    Kanhaiya Kumar is a former president of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) and Khera is the chairman of the Congress’s media department.

    A number of women workers and leaders of the party will also be Bharat Yatris, sources said.

  • Congress launches website, tagline of ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’; to kickstart ‘people’s movement’ on September 7

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Congress on Tuesday launched the logo, tagline and website of its upcoming ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’, billed as a mass contact programme of an unprecedented scale.

    Addressing a press conference, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the main yatra will cover 3,570 km from Kanyakumari in the south to Kashmir in the north over a period of about five months beginning September 7.

    Simultaneously, smaller ‘Bharat Jodo Yatras’ will be taken out in various states.

    Digvijaya Singh, who heads the party’s yatra organising committee, told the press conference that Congress president Sonia Gandhi wants people from every religion, caste and community participate in the campaign.

    Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi will participate in the yatra from Kanyakumari.

    “There will be 100 ‘padayatris’ who will walk from start to finish. They will be ‘Bharat Yatris’. Around 100 people will keep joining from the states through which this yatra is not passing, these people will be ‘Atithi Yatras’. Around 100 yatris will be involved from the states through which the journey will pass, these will be ‘Pradesh Yatris’. At a time, there will be 300 padayatris,” Singh said.

    Responding to a question, he said, “Rahul Gandhi is a big leader of the country and will be a ‘Bharat Yatri’ in the yatra.”

    Singh said the country has not witnessed neither a ‘padayatra’ nor any mass contact programme of this scale before.

    “We are proud that the Congress, which secured independence for the country through a people’s movement is now aiming to bring back social harmony and prevent the country from losing its character through people’s movement,” he said.

    Today’s burning need is for unity to protect and reforge our republic. 150 civil society representatives from across India took a key step today by welcoming and agreeing to engage with the Bharat Jodo Yatra announced by Congress. The group will issue a detailed appeal soon. pic.twitter.com/EDr3HzSraR
    — Yogendra Yadav (@_YogendraYadav) August 22, 2022
    “We want to bring the Bharat Jodo Yatra in the form of a public movement,” he said.

    Singh and Ramesh unveiled the tagline of the yatra — ‘Mile Kadam, Jude Watan’ — a four-plage pamphlet.

    The leaders also launched the website and urged those wanting to participate in the yatra to register on it.

    “Ek tera kadam, ek mera kadam, mil jaye to jud jaye apna watan (one step yours, one step mine, together they can unite India),” Rahul Gandhi said in a tweet and also put the logo of the yatra as his Twitter profile picture.

    Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also tweeted the tagline of the yatra and put the logo as her Twitter profile picture.

    Several Congress social media handles changed their profile picture to display the logo.

    Ramesh said Rahul Gandhi has identified three main reasons of the Bharat Jodo Yatra — economic, social and political.

    He said the yatra was needed as there were grave economic challenges confronting the country on account of inflation, unemployment and concentration of economic wealth and growing regional disparities.

    He also pointed to social polarisation based on caste, religion, dress, food and language.

    Ramesh alleged there were political challenges on account of the growing use of the Centre’s institutions and the complete weakening of the states.

    The foot march will cover 12 states and two Union territories.

    NEW DELHI: The Congress on Tuesday launched the logo, tagline and website of its upcoming ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’, billed as a mass contact programme of an unprecedented scale.

    Addressing a press conference, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the main yatra will cover 3,570 km from Kanyakumari in the south to Kashmir in the north over a period of about five months beginning September 7.

    Simultaneously, smaller ‘Bharat Jodo Yatras’ will be taken out in various states.

    Digvijaya Singh, who heads the party’s yatra organising committee, told the press conference that Congress president Sonia Gandhi wants people from every religion, caste and community participate in the campaign.

    Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi will participate in the yatra from Kanyakumari.

    “There will be 100 ‘padayatris’ who will walk from start to finish. They will be ‘Bharat Yatris’. Around 100 people will keep joining from the states through which this yatra is not passing, these people will be ‘Atithi Yatras’. Around 100 yatris will be involved from the states through which the journey will pass, these will be ‘Pradesh Yatris’. At a time, there will be 300 padayatris,” Singh said.

    Responding to a question, he said, “Rahul Gandhi is a big leader of the country and will be a ‘Bharat Yatri’ in the yatra.”

    Singh said the country has not witnessed neither a ‘padayatra’ nor any mass contact programme of this scale before.

    “We are proud that the Congress, which secured independence for the country through a people’s movement is now aiming to bring back social harmony and prevent the country from losing its character through people’s movement,” he said.

    Today’s burning need is for unity to protect and reforge our republic. 150 civil society representatives from across India took a key step today by welcoming and agreeing to engage with the Bharat Jodo Yatra announced by Congress. The group will issue a detailed appeal soon. pic.twitter.com/EDr3HzSraR
    — Yogendra Yadav (@_YogendraYadav) August 22, 2022
    “We want to bring the Bharat Jodo Yatra in the form of a public movement,” he said.

    Singh and Ramesh unveiled the tagline of the yatra — ‘Mile Kadam, Jude Watan’ — a four-plage pamphlet.

    The leaders also launched the website and urged those wanting to participate in the yatra to register on it.

    “Ek tera kadam, ek mera kadam, mil jaye to jud jaye apna watan (one step yours, one step mine, together they can unite India),” Rahul Gandhi said in a tweet and also put the logo of the yatra as his Twitter profile picture.

    Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also tweeted the tagline of the yatra and put the logo as her Twitter profile picture.

    Several Congress social media handles changed their profile picture to display the logo.

    Ramesh said Rahul Gandhi has identified three main reasons of the Bharat Jodo Yatra — economic, social and political.

    He said the yatra was needed as there were grave economic challenges confronting the country on account of inflation, unemployment and concentration of economic wealth and growing regional disparities.

    He also pointed to social polarisation based on caste, religion, dress, food and language.

    Ramesh alleged there were political challenges on account of the growing use of the Centre’s institutions and the complete weakening of the states.

    The foot march will cover 12 states and two Union territories.

  • Rahul Gandhi flies to Europe, to skip key Congress party meet

    By Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: Ahead of a key party meeting to discuss organisational elections and the much-touted ‘Bharat-Jodo Yatra’ starting October 2, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi flew abroad on a personal visit. However, he is expected to be back before the start of Parliament’s monsoon session on July 18 and polling for presidential elections. 

    Congress president Sonia Gandhi has called a meeting of the party’s central in-charges, states heads, and chiefs of frontal organisations on July 14. The agenda is discussion on party president’s elections scheduled in mid-August and Kashmir to Kanyakumari ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’. 

    Sources said Rahul flew to Europe early Tuesday and will be back to attend the monsoon session next week.

    The trip comes at a time when the party is struggling to keep its flock together in Goa, where a group of Congress MLAs are looking to defect to the BJP.    

    The meeting is expected to discuss the election for party president which has been pending for long.

    Rahul had resigned as Congress chief in 2019 after the party’s debacle in the Lok Sabha elections. Rahul has often faced flak for his frequent visits abroad, especially at crucial junctures. 

    His recent visit to Cambridge, UK, had courted controversy with the BJP saying that he did not take permission for the event.

    The Congress had said that for private events, MPs don’t need clearance from the foreign ministry. 

    In May this year, the BJP circulated videos of Rahul at a nightclub in Kathmandu where he had gone to attend a friend’s wedding. Congress chief Sonia Gandhi will also chair a meeting of Congress Parliamentary Strategy Group on Thursday to discuss party’s strategy for upcoming monsoon session of Parliament starting July 18.

    The Congress is looking to raise issues related to Agnipath scheme, inflation, unemployment and Indo-China border issues among others.  The Centre has also called an all-party meeting on July 17.