Rahul Gandhi, a Congressman, on Wednesday provided an explanation of the motivation for the “Bharat Jodo Yatra” ahead of the Punjab leg. Speaking to a crowd in Sirhind, Punjab, Gandhi denounced the Bharatiya Janata Party and claimed they had “deteriorated the atmosphere of 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. We thought the nation must be shown a different path of love, unity, and brotherhood, and this is why we started this yatra.”
Gandhi said the yatra had received ‘overwhelming public response’
“There is a reason for this — the hatred, fear, and violence being spread by the BJP people, it is not the country’s way and not its history. This country is of brotherhood, unity, and respect. And this is why this yatra is successful,” he said.
The Congress on Wednesday continued its yatra from Punjab’s Sirhind in Fatehgarh Sahib. It will pass through Mandi Gobindgarh, Khanna, Sahnewal, Ludhiana, Goraya, Phagwara, Jalandhar, Dasyua, and Mukerian. On January 19, a rally will be held at Pathankot before the foot march enters Jammu and Kashmir, where it will end in Srinagar.
Gandhi would reportedly accomplish 25 kilometres in three hours of walking each in the morning and evening.
The Bharat Jodo Yatra of the Congress party started on September 7 in Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu, and will end on January 30 in Srinagar. Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, and Haryana have all been visited so far by the Yatra.