AHMEDABAD: On the day of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s 150th birth anniversary, Gujarat Congress has announced a state-wide farmers’ agitation - the ‘Khedut Aakrosh Yatra’ - from Somnath to Dwarka, to voice farmers’ woes over unseasonal rains and loan burdens.
The campaign coincides with the Congress’ renewed attack on the BJP for “erasing” Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s legacy and renaming the iconic Motera stadium after Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Party chief Amit Chavda on Friday announced the ‘Khedut Aakrosh Yatra’, a week-long foot march from Somnath to Dwarka, beginning November 6 and concluding November 13. The yatra will travel across the 10 rain-affected districts of Saurashtra, engaging directly with farmers hit by unseasonal rains and crop loss. Congress aims to amplify its demand for farm loan waivers and a special relief package from the Gujarat government.
Ahead of the yatra, Congress will intensify its agitation across the state. Between November 1 and 5, the party will hold dharna protests at every taluka headquarters, where delegations will march to Mamlatdar offices with memoranda listing farmers’ demands. On November 6, Congress workers plan to “encircle” district collectors’ offices to submit another round of petitions before the yatra formally begins.
The announcement came alongside a charged political message from Chavda, who accused the BJP and RSS of “erasing Sardar Saheb’s contribution to glorify their own leader”.
Addressing party workers, Chavda alleged that the BJP was attempting to rewrite history by removing Sardar Patel’s name from public landmarks — particularly citing the renaming of Sardar Patel Stadium to Narendra Modi Stadium in Motera.
Marking Sardar Patel’s 150th birth anniversary, the Congress will hold a padyatra from Ramnagar Chowk to Motera Stadium, condemning what it called the BJP’s “deliberate effort to diminish Patel’s legacy”.
At the event, Chavda announced a symbolic resolution vowing that in 2028, Congress will restore the original name ‘Sardar Patel Stadium’ by replacing the Narendra Modi plaque.
“Those who Sardar Saheb once opposed — the RSS and its divisive ideology — now rule Gujarat and the nation,” Chavda said. “The same ideology Sardar sought to ban is being glorified today. Congress will fight this distortion and defend Sardar’s ideals with full strength.”
Linking Patel’s farmers’ leadership to today’s agrarian crisis, Chavda said, “The leader who earned the title of Sardar by leading farmers’ satyagrahas is being sidelined, while the real farmers of Gujarat suffer from debt and loss.”
He vowed that Gujarat Congress would remain the voice of farmers, youth, and the common man, promising a sustained battle against “injustice and arrogance of power.”
