DELHI: Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is set to undertake the second edition of the 'Bharat Jodo yatra' on January 14 from Manipur and Mumbai covering 6200 km. It is set to conclude on March 20.
The yatra will be called ‘Bharat Nyay Yatra'. It will be undertaken mostly by bus with short walks across 14 States. The states to be covered in the yatra include Manipur, Nagaland, Assam, Meghalaya, West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra.
Announcing the yatra, AICC general secretary in charge of organization KC Venugopal and general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh said that the yatra would be flagged off by the Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge from Imphal on January 14.
The main aim of the 'Nayay Yatra' will be to secure economic, social, and political justice for the country's people.
Venugopal said, "Following the unanimous resolution of the Congress Working Committee on December 21 that Mr Gandhi should do the second phase of the Yatra from East to West, it was decided that he (Gandhi) should do the second phase of the yatra from Imphal to Mumbai."
Replying to a question about choosing Manipur as the starting point, he said, the state was an important part of the country and also the party wanted to begin the process of healing the wounds of the people of Manipur.
He said that while in the first phase, Gandhi covered about 4,500 km from Kanyakumari to Kashmir covering 12 states, this time he will cover 6,200 km covering 14 states. This time the mode of the ‘yatra’ will be a bus with off-and-on walking stretches.
Ramesh said that while during the 'Bharat Jodo Yatra', Gandhi raised the issues of economic disparities, polarization, and dictatorship, the 'Nyay Yatra' will focus on social, economic, and political justice for the country's people.
He said that after spreading the message of unity, love, and harmony, Gandhi will seek justice for the people of the country.
Replying to a question about whether the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) parties will also participate in the yatra, Venugopal said, the final details were being worked out.
Ramesh pointed out that during the 'Bharat Jodo Yatra', leaders of various political parties had also participated in that yatra.
On September 7 last year, the Congress launched the Kanyakumari-to-Kashmir 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' that covered over 4500 km. During the yatra, Gandhi traversed across 12 States and two Union Territories with a clarion call for unity and a mantra of ‘open a shop of love in the market of hatred’.
It also saw the participation of celebrities like Pooja Bhatt, Swara Bhasker, Opposition leaders Shiv Sena’s Aaditya Thackeray and NCP’s Supriya Sule, former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan, among many others.