BENGALURU: Congress president Sonia Gandhi and party senior leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will take part in the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’, being led by Rahul Gandhi, when it is passing through the state. “We will announce the dates of their participation in the coming days,” said party national general secretaries KC Venugopal and state in-charge Rajdeep Sing Surjewala here on Friday.
The two leaders reviewed preparation for the Karnataka phase of the yatra, which will start in Gundlupet at 9 am on September 30. “On October 2 , we are organising a Gandhi Jayanti programme at Badanavalu village in Nanjangud taluk, about 20 km away from Mysuru that is known for its khadi and gramodyog units. The yatra will take a break for two days because of Dasara celebrations. Towards the end, a massive public meeting will be held in Ballari,” they said.
Block Congress presidents, District Congress Committees members, defeated candidates and their supporters will join the walk with Rahul. Eminent personalities, civil society leaders, artists, industrialists and thinkers will be accommodated, they said.
The party has requested people from Mysuru, which is the largest city on the yatra route, to take part in the march from 7 am onwards. “For the last decade, BJP and Sangh Parivar have only been tarnishing the image of Rahul. But people now know who Rahul is and this yatra will be a turning point in Indian politics,” Venugopal said.
On the PayCM campaign, he said the party is only taking up a genuine issue raised by the Contractors’ Association. “The people of Karnataka are saying this is one of the most corrupt governments they have seen,” he added. Congress workers are not scared of arrests and they will raise the issue again and again, he added. Surjewala said, “This is a scam a day government.”