NEW DELHI: Scores of Congress workers and supporters from Noida on Tuesday reached Ghaziabad to join the Bharat Jodo Yatra being led by party leader Rahul Gandhi. Led by local leader Pankhuri Pathak, Congress workers from Noida and other areas of Gautam Buddh Nagar district assembled at the Loni border in Ghaziabad to join the Yatra.
Party’s Uttar Pradesh Congress chief and former MP Brijlal Khabri and CLP leader in Uttar Pradesh Aradhna Mishra were among those present at the Loni border. Later, former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah also joined at Ghaziabad.
Priyanka Vadra welcomed her brother in presence of leaders of the Uttar Pradesh Congress and Delhi Congress. She is also the AICC general secretary in-charge for Uttar Pradesh. The yatra flag was handed over to the leaders of the state at a specially made stage where brother-sister bonding was on full display as Rahul Gandhi hugged and kissed Priyanka Vadra sitting side by side.
Meanwhile, traffic diversions were put in place in the Loni area from 10 am to 6 pm in anticipation of the Yatra rush. No vehicles, including e-rickshaws and cars, are permitted on the route between the Loni Border (with Delhi) and the Mandola Border (with Baghpat) during the period, traffic police said in an advisory.
Beginning its second leg after a winter break in Delhi, the Yatra entered Uttar Pradesh Tuesday afternoon to a rousing welcome by supporters. The Yatra that began on September 7 from Kanyakumari will culminate in Jammu and Kashmir.