Priyanka joins Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in its last leg in UP
LUCKNOW: Over a month after the commencement of Congress MP Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, All India Congress Committee (AICC) General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra joined her brother on Saturday in the brass city of Moradabad, which happens to be the native place of Priyanka’s in-laws, after a two-day halt for march's final leg.
People raised slogans such as 'Rahul Gandhi zindabaad', 'Priyanka Gandhi zindabaad' and 'Congress party zindabaad' as the yatra passed through different areas of Moradabad. The Congress leaders were seen waving to people from an open jeep.
According to party sources, the AICC general secretary would accompany the Yatra from Moradabad, to Fatehpur Sikri via Amroha, Sambhal, Bulandshahr, Aligarh, Hathras, and Agra from where it will enter Rajasthan.
Priyanka was supposed to join the Yatra from Chandauli district of eastern UP on February 16 but she got unwell and was admitted to Sir Gangaram Hospital in New Delhi. Priyanka was discharged early this week.
Speaking at the Yatra in Moradabad, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra lashed out at the state govt for an alleged paper leak during the police recruitment examination which was held on February 17-18.
“Twenty-eight lakh students took the exam for UP Police but the paper was leaked... As BJP's government is formed in the centre and state, unemployment rates have increased... Until you are not employed, you don't get facilities, paper leaks are not stopped, and there will be no development. Change will happen only when you cast your vote according to your experiences," she said while addressing the gathering around the yatra.
She also alleged that bulldozers are used to demolish the homes of "innocent people" while the "guilty" escape unscathed.
The Congress leader also expressed regret for being unable to join the Yatra on February 16 due to her illness.
"The Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra of Rahul Gandhi resumed from Moradabad. Party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was also present along with Rahul Gandhi. As the yatra moved through Moradabad, people from different walks of life greeted them. Both were seated in an open jeep," Uttar Pradesh Congress spokesperson Manish Hindvi told PTI.
While Priyanka’s presence rejuvenated the Congress workers walking along the Yatra, SP workers were also seen taking part in it following the seat-sharing pact between the two parties in UP for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Moreover, the Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Ajay Rai extended an invitation to SP leaders for the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Agra on February 25. Rai mentioned that key leaders from the Samajwadi Party would be joining the yatra, emphasizing the unity of the INDIA bloc.
"The yatra will be held in Agra on the 25th (February). We gave the invitation letter to the SP office here so that they can join the yatra and send a message of the strong unity of the INDIA alliance," Ajay Rai said.
SP chief Akhilesh Yadav is set to join the Congress' yatra in Agra on Sunday
before it enters Rajasthan.
The Congress had said February 26 to March 1 would be break days for the yatra to allow Rahul Gandhi to fulfil his long-standing commitment to deliver two special lectures at his alma mater Cambridge University in the UK on February 27 and February 28. He will be also attending important meetings in New Delhi during this period, it had said.
The yatra will resume from Dholpur at 2 pm on March 2.
It will then move into Madhya Pradesh and cover Morena, Gwalior, Shivpuri, Guna, Shajapur and Ujjain among other districts of the state.
On March 5, Rahul Gandhi will pay obeisance at the Shri Mahakaleshwar Temple in Ujjain. He had offered prayers at the temple on November 29, 2022, during his Bharat Jodo Yatra.
(With inputs from PTI)