Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, his deputy Mukesh Agnihotri and Congress’ chief in the hill state Pratibha Singh walked alongside Rahul Gandhi in the Bharat Jodo Yatra on Friday as it completed 100 days on the road.
Besides Sukhu, Agnihotri and the HPCC chief, other newly-elected Himachal MLAs, including Pratibha Singh’s son Vikramaditya Singh, and AICC in-charge of the state Rajeev Shukla joined the march after the tea break during its morning session.
Large crowds had gathered to greet the yatra participants in Dausa, known as a stronghold of former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot. People had lined up along the entire route of the yatra to cheer the leaders.
Slogans were raised in support of Pilot at several places as he walked beside Gandhi. Sachin Pilot and his father Rajesh Pilot have both been elected to Parliament from Dausa in the past.
Sukhu, Agnihotri, Pratibha Singh, Shukla and the newly-elected Himachal Pradesh MLAs joined the yatra after it had covered a fair distance early morning. The yatra covered 23 kilometres at a stretch.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot walked alongside Rahul Gandhi briefly early in the morning.
Former editor Jansatta On Thanvi, social activist Bhanwar Meghwanshi and London School of Economics Professor Mukulika Banerjee were among those who walked alongside Gandhi Friday.
Later in the evening, Gandhi addressed a press conference and then met with retired Chief Justices and Justices from Rajasthan for an in-depth discussion on the state of judiciary.
”The four main points that emerged were the absolute need for a transparent and effective judicial system to ensure justice to people. There is a need for ensuring greater diversity at higher levels of judiciary through a well-calibrated process,” Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said in a tweet.
It also emerged during the meeting that it is absolutely imperative to protect the judiciary to guarantee our freedoms and defend our Constitutional values, he said.
It was also noted that the statue of Manu at the Rajasthan High Court is completely out of place in a country that’s anchored in Ambedkar’s Constitution, Ramesh said.
Gandhi also attended the Bharat Jodo concert featuring noted singer Sunidhi Chauhan to mark 100 days of the yatra.
”Bharat Jodo Yatra’s biggest achievement is that issues of the common people of the country have been highlighted through it,” AICC general secretary K C Venugopal told PTI while walking in the yatra.
”The BJP’s attempt of demolishing his (Gandhi’s) image has also been destroyed by us,” he added.
The Congress general secretary (organisation) also stressed that the message of the yatra will be spread through a follow-up campaign to be undertaken by the party from January 26.
The yatra, which was launched on September 7 in Kanyakumari has traversed eight states Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and now, Rajasthan.
With over 2,800 kilometres under his belt, Gandhi has managed to catch the attention of his supporters as well as detractors.
Controversies have also been part and parcel of the yatra, with the Congress and the BJP trading barbs on several occasions.
The yatra will enter Delhi on December 24, and after a break of about eight days, move on to Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab and finally, Jammu and Kashmir.
It has seen participation from a cross-section of society, including film and TV celebrities such as Pooja Bhatt, Riya Sen, Sushant Singh, Swara Bhasker, Rashami Desai, Akanksha Puri and Amol Palekar.
Besides participation from tinsel town celebrities, writers, military veterans, including former Navy chief admiral L Ramdas, Opposition leaders such as Shiv Sena’s Aaditya Thackeray and the NCP’s Supriya Sule, and former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan, have also joined the march at various points.
