KANYAKUMARI: Bharat Jodo Yatra, launched by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday, is the country's second freedom struggle and it will go on till the divisive forces are defeated, Congress senior leader and former Union Minister P Chidambaram said.
Lashing out at the BJP for criticising the nationwide yatra, he said the BJP would have no role in this second freedom struggle, which will see that party decimated.
"I wish to tell those criticising our Bharat Jodo Yatra that you had no role in India's freedom struggle during which Mahatma Gandhi gave the slogan: do or die. Now too, you will have no role. Our journey will not end till the divisive forces are defeated," Chidambaram said addressing the rally near the Gandhi Mandapam here in the presence of Rahul Gandhi.
The BJP leaders belittled the Congress yatra, as they apparently did not want the nation to remain united.
"When we say let's unite, they say divide," he said indicating that the saffron party's attempt to divide the nation will not fructify.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi described the "Bharat Jodo Yatra" on Wednesday as a landmark occasion and hoped that the 3,500-km foot march would help rejuvenate the party.
In her message read out at the rally in Kanyakumari, Gandhi said she would be participating in the yatra daily in thought and spirit.
"In view of the medical check-ups that I am undergoing, I regret my inability to be with all of you in person this momentous evening to launch the historic Bharat Jodo Yatra from Kanyakumari to Kashmir.
"This is a landmark occasion for our great party with such a glorious legacy -- the Indian National Congress. I am confident that our organisation will be rejuvenated," Gandhi said in her message.
She also described the occasion as a "transformational moment in Indian politics".
Gandhi congratulated the 120-odd party colleagues who will complete the entire "padyatra" and said there will be hundreds and thousands of others who will join the march in different states.
"I extend my greetings to them as well," she said.
"Speaking for myself, I will be participating in the Bharat Jodo Yatra daily in thought and spirit. I will, of course, be seeing the yatra live as it progresses. So, let us move forward united and firm in our resolve," the Congress president said.
The occasion also saw the handing over of the national flag to officially mark the start of the "padayatra", which the Congress has described as the longest ever undertaken by any political party in independent India.
Senior Congress leader and prominent G-23 member Anand Sharma on Wednesday conveyed his best wishes to former party president Rahul Gandhi for its 'Bharat Jodo Yatra', saying it seeks to uphold India's inclusive democracy and strengthen unity.
Sharma is among the G-23 leaders who had sought an organisational overhaul and elections at all levels, in a letter to the Congress president in August 2020.
The former Union minister said he was looking forward to joining the over 3,500-km yatra when it reaches near his home state Himachal Pradesh, which will go to polls later this year.
"Expressing my solidarity and conveying best wishes to Rahul Gandhi and all Yatris. Bharat Jodo yatra is a mission to uphold India's inclusive democracy, to mobilise people against injustice, inequality and intolerance.
Also a commitment to strengthen national unity," he said on Twitter.
"Looking forward to join the Yatra when it reaches near my home state of Himachal enroute to Jammu-Kashmir," he added.
The Bharat Jodo Yatra is starting from Kanyakumari on Thursday morning and will end in Kashmir after traversing through 12 states and two Union territories in about five months.
The Congress has described it as the longest 'padyatra' undertaken by any political party in the country.
The party said it is a turning point in Indian politics and marks a "new beginning".
"September 7 2022. A day when India's oldest political party will launch the longest padyatra ever undertaken. It is a sombre day, a day for quiet reflection and renewed resolve," Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said in a tweet.
"This is a turning point in Indian politics. It marks a new beginning," he said.
With the launch of the yatra at a mega rally in Kanyakumari, the Congress is seeking to flag economic disparities, social polarisation and political centralisation, while attempting to make gains in what it often described as battle of ideologies.