For the first time since the foot march began in September, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and her husband and son joined Rahul Gandhi on Thursday during the Bharat Jodo Yatra, the party’s public outreach initiative that is presently travelling across Madhya Pradesh. Rahul Gandhi was seen walking in step with Priyanka Gandhi, her husband Robert Vadra, and their son Rehan.
The Bharat Jodo Yatra, which started this morning in the Madhya Pradesh village of Borgaon, included participation from senior Congress leader Sachin Pilot as well. Days before the yatra hits the desert state of Rajasthan, Pilot has joined the foot march as calls for a new leadership have resurfaced there.
Addressing the public gathering in Burhanpur on Wednesday, Rahul Gandhi said they walk for about eight hours and cover an average of 25 kilometres daily to listen to people’s ‘mann ki baat’.
“We interact with people in between the Yatra. We hear people’s ‘Man ki Baat’ for about eight hours and speak for about 15 minutes. Not like PM’s ‘Man Ki Baat’, we listen to what is on the mind of farmers, youth, women, labourers and small-scale traders throughout the day,” he said.
“We started this journey from Kanyakumari. When we started, the people of the opposition said that India is 3,300 kilometres long and it cannot be done on foot but now we have come to Madhya Pradesh, we will walk about 370 kilometres here. This Yatra will reach Srinagar and our tricolour will be hoisted there, no one can stop it,” the Congress leader added.
On December 4, the yatra will arrive in Rajasthan from Madhya Pradesh after travelling 380 kilometers.