Five months, 12 states, 3,500 km: What is Congress’ Bharat Jodo Yatra all about?

Imagine walking from one tip of the country to another – from Kanyakumari to Kashmir. Seems impossible, right?

The Congress, is all set to cover an overwhelming distance of 3,500 km, starting from Kanyakumari in the south to Kashmir in the north as part of their ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’, which will commence from 7 September.

The foot march will cover 12 states and two Union Territories over a period of about four months.

Let’s take a closer look at the details of the yatra.

How will Congress go about the Yatra?

After paying homage at the Sriperumbudur memorial near Chennai, the site where Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated in 1991, Rahul Gandhi will flag off the Bharat Jodo Yatra from Kanyakumari on 7 September.

From Kanyakumari, the padyatris will pass through Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Nilambur, Mysuru, Bellary, Raichur, Vikarabad, Nanded, Jalgaon, Indore, Kota, Dausa, Alwar, Bulandshaher, Delhi, Ambala, Jammu and finally culminate in Kashmir’s capital Srinagar.

3500 kms, millions of people, and all will walk together with one aim - to unite India.#BharatJodoYatra pic.twitter.com/MlZD9ftcbO

— Congress (@INCIndia) August 24, 2022

Congress leader Digvijay Singh said at a press conference, “There will be 100 padyatris who will walk from the start to finish. They will be Bharat Yatris. Around 100 people will keep joining from the states through which this yatra is not passing, these people will be Atithi Yatris. Around 100 yatris will be involved from the states through which the journey will pass, these will be Pradesh Yatris. At a time, there will be 300 padyatris.”

The march will cover a distance of 25 km everyday and will include padyatras, rallies and public meetings which will be attended by leaders like Sonia and Priyanka Gandhi.

Senior Congress leaders Jairam Ramesh and Digvijay Singh confirmed that Rahul Gandhi will actively participate in the campaign but it’s not sure whether he would lead it, according to a report by The Print.

As per Indian Express, Rahul Gandhi will sleep in makeshift containers and interact with people from all walks of life, during the yatra.

What’s the goal?

At a joint press conference held in Delhi, Ramesh and Singh claimed that the yatra will cater to the interest of the nation in the wake of economic inequality, social polarisation and political divisions in the country.

“The manner in which hatred is being spread in the country, central agencies are being misused, the rupee is falling, how the Constitution is being disrespected... Sonia Gandhi in the Udaipur Chintan Shivir had said that people from all walks of lives, from all religions and castes would join the ‘nafrat chhodo, Bharat jodo’ campaign,” Singh said.

Ramesh further said that the march is the “need of the hour” to counter rising inflation and unemployment.

According to a report by The Hindu, the party claimed that a padyatra of this scale has not been organised in an independent India.

Rahul seeks support of 150 civil organisations

A national conclave, called the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra Conclave’ was organised in Delhi on 22 August, to discuss the plans of the yatra. This conclave was attended by 150 civil society organisations.

According to a report by India Today, Rahul Gandhi told the members of these societies that “time for us to unite and march in solidarity.”

Here, Gandhi said that the yatra is like a “tapasya” to him. He further said, “I know uniting India (Bharat Jodo) is going to be a long battle and I am ready for it."

Convinced by Rahul Gandhi’s proposition, these organisations extended their support to Congress’ Bharat Jodo Yatra.

Party launches logo and tagline for the Yatra

On Tuesday, the party unveiled the logo, tagline, pamphlet and website for the Bharat Jodo Yatra.

Through its tagline Mile kadam, jude watan, Congress hopes to unite the country by flagging off this campaign.

Digvijay Singh also invited people to join the yatra by registering in the official website.

‘Congress totally lost the plot’ says AAP

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) took a dig at Congress’ Bharat Jodo Yatra by saying that the party has “totally lost the plot.”

Reacting to Congress’ promotional post, the party’s Mumbai unit president Preeti Sharma Menon tweeted, “One more example of how Indian National Congress has totally lost the plot.”

One more example of how @INCIndia has totally lost the plot.

The photo of their dreams is from an #IndiaAgainstCorrution morcha where one can clearly see our youth leader @VandanaSsingh