Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will launch a similar outreach program from Manipur, the northeastern state where he previously conducted the Bharat Jodo Yatra. Congress general secretary (Organisation) K C Venugopal announced on Wednesday that Gandhi will begin the yatra on January 14, which will culminate in Mumbai on March 20.
“On December 21, Congress Working Committee unanimously gave an opinion that Rahul Gandhi should start a yatra from East to West. Rahul Gandhi also agreed to fulfill the wishes of the CWC. All India Congress Committee has decided to hold a ‘Bharat Nyay Yatra’ from January 14 to March 20, from Manipur to Mumbai,” Venugopal told a press conference.
During the 65-day march, Gandhi will traverse 14 states and 85 districts, covering a distance of 6,200 km.
Among the states are Manipur, Nagaland, Assam, Meghalaya, West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Maharashtra.
“In this yatra, Rahul Gandhi is going to interact with the youth, women and marginalised people,” he added.
In contrast to the Bharat Jodo Yatra, the latest outreach programme will be conducted on a bus.
“Bus yatra allows maximum access to the people on the way,” Venugopal said, adding that the yatra will include “short stretches of walking every now and then”.
In September last year, Gandhi completed the Bharat Jodo Yatra, which covered 4500 km over 150 days, starting in Kanyakumari. A number of Congress party leaders urged Gandhi to undertake another yatra, and at the last CWC on December 21, the working committee unanimously urged Gandhi to do so. In the meeting, Gandhi stated that he would do whatever the party requested of him.
