GUWAHATI: The Congress on Saturday said its ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’, to be taken out from Manipur on Sunday under Rahul Gandhi’s leadership, is a political rally which has nothing to do with elections.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh told journalists in Manipur capital Imphal that Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra is the second phase of Bharat Jodo Yatra. A bevy of Congress leaders, including chief ministers of all Congress-ruled states, will take part in the launch of the yatra.
“This is an ideological yatra, not an electoral yatra. This is a political rally, being taken out by a political party with a political purpose. Our political purpose is to protect the Constitution, the preamble of the Constitution, the principles – justice, liberty equality and fraternity,” Ramesh said.
He said the selection of Manipur as the yatra’s starting point was a deliberate choice. He said the Congress considered various options and finally, decided to start with Manipur “as a reflection of our concern for what has happened here and also to highlight that the Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) has not met any political leader of Manipur in the last eight months.”
Ramesh said the ethnic violence-hit Manipur went through anguish and agony. He said “lakhs” of people were displaced, hundreds killed and the state’s social harmony was disturbed.
A chartered flight carrying Gandhi and AICC leaders will land in Imphal shortly after 11 am on Sunday. The Congress leaders will straightway go to Khongjom War Memorial in Thoubal district in the Imphal valley, followed by the launch of the yatra from the private land.
Ramesh said it would be an eight to ten km yatra on Sunday and Gandhi would be in Nagaland the next day. To a query, he said the Congress leader would not go to Kuki-majority Churachandpur. The road to Nagaland passes through Kangpokpi, a Kuki-majority district.
“During the course of two months, Rahul Gandhi will be interacting with civil society groups and addressing public meetings every day. He will put forward to the country a positive agenda on nyay,” he said.
Explaining it, he said the agenda would be on economic justice, which addresses issues of price rise, unemployment, and economic inequality; and on social justice, which addresses issues relating to social empowerment of Dalits, Adivasis, OBCs, women, minorities and how to strengthen democracy and the democratic institutions.
“This is an ideological battle that the Congress has mounted. Bharat Jodo Yatra was an ideological yatra. Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra is an equally ideological yatra but it is a yatra of a political party,” Ramesh said.
On concerns relating to Gandhi’s security, he said there are two-three officers in the Congress leader’s team to oversee the security aspect and they are in touch with the Manipur government.
Gandhi would cover a distance of 6,200 km during his 66-day-long yatra which will conclude in Mumbai. For the next 10-11 days, it will pass through Manipur, Nagaland, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya.
Manipur Congress president Meghachandra said a 10-party alliance of opposition parties, including Trinamool Congress, in the state adopted a resolution on January 2 to support the yatra.