UP: Ex-Deputy CM Dinesh Sharma refuses, Opposition leaders unlikely to join Bharat Jodo Yatra
LUCKNOW: In response to Congress party’s invite to join the UP leg of its Bharat Jodo Yatra, led by party’s former chief Rahul Gandhi, neither former UP Deputy CM Dr Dinesh Sharma nor other opposition leaders seem interested in obliging the ‘grand old party,’ the yatra of which is likely to enter UP from Loni border of Ghaziabad on January 3.
Congress had extended invite to Dr Dinesh Sharma in the capacity of LU professor and several leaders of non-BJP parties, including SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, BSP supremo Mayawati and RLD chief Jayant Chaudhary, SP MLA Shivpal Yadav, SBSP chief OP Rajbhar and CPI general secretary Atul Anjan to take part in the Uttar Pradesh leg of the Bharat Jodo Yatra which will cover three districts—Ghaziabad, Baghpat and Shamli.
When asked about Congress’s invite, Dr Dinesh Sharma outrightly rejected the Congress’s offer while suggesting Rahul Gandhi to join Prime Minister Narendra Modi's efforts to connect the country.
Claiming that he did not have any information about invitation for the UP leg of the Congress yatra, Dr Dinesh Sharma laughed it off saying that those indulging in "Bharat Todo" (breaking the country) were taking out "Bharat Jodo" yatra.
He said Congress was filled with "negativity" and it was clearly evident in its opposition to annulling of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir and its joining hands with the Indian Muslim league in Kerala.
Meanwhile, the SP and RLD spokesmen also expressed the inability of their leaders to join the yatra owing to their pre-occupations.
While SP’s national spokesman Rajendra Chaudhury claimed that Akhilesh’s schedule was already fixed for those dates when the Yatra would cover UP, so he would not be able to join it, RLD chief spokesman Anil Dubey said that Jayant Chaudhury might not be able to join the yatra as he had pre-scheduled party meetings.
However, he said that the participation of any other RLD leader representing Jayant in Yatra would be decided by the party chief himself. On the other, the BSP and SBSP are still awaiting the formal invite after getting phone calls from Congress’s senior leader and Yatra’s UP coordinator Salman Khurshid. As per the lone BSP MLA Umashanakr Singh, the decision to be a part of the Yatra rests with Behenji (BSP chief Mayawati).
On the other, SBSP chef OP Rajbhar said the decision to join Congress Yatra would be taken collectively by his party leaders at a meeting on December 30. Meanwhile, UP Congress, on Tuesday, released the route map of the party's 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' in the state which will enter Ghaziabad's Loni area on January 3 and travel to Haryana via Shamli's Kairana.
On January 4, the yatra would reach Mavi Kalan in Baghpat and pass through Baghpat city and Sisana, Sarurpur and Barot in the same district. On January 5, it would reach Alam in Shamli district and pass through Kandhla, Uncha village and Kairana. Same evening the Yatra would enter Sonepat in Haryana from Kairana.