T’PURAM/KOLLAM: Having drawn flak for excluding BJP-ruled Gujarat from Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra, the Congress announced that its second phase would begin in the western state and end in Arunachal Pradesh in 2023.
“We’ll cover nearly 3,100km in 150 days in the second phase. This is the longest march undertaken by any political party in the world. Earlier it was the one undertaken by Chinese leader Mao Zedong. If the yatra from Kanyakumari to Kashmir turns successful, we’ll go ahead with the one from Gujarat to Arunachal Pradesh,” AICC general secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh said in Kollam.
The Congress had faced criticism from the CPM for spending 18 days of the yatra in Kerala and a mere two days in Uttar Pradesh. But the party’s national leadership maintained that, as per their itinerary, the UP padayatra was scheduled for five days. The war of words on their respective Twitter handle saw them raising allegations and counter allegations.