Senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh chaired a meeting of the Central Planning Group for Bharat Jodo Yatra that the party is planning to undertake from October 2. The yatra, aims to unite the country that has been under assault from the divisive forces, Mr. Singh told The Hindu. The countrywide yatra, is likely to begin from Kanyakumari.
Mr. Singh said that Sunday's meeting was the first brainstorming session where the concept was discussed and in subsequent meetings the logistics and route will be decided. The yatra will cover nearly 3,000 km.
The meeting was also attended by former Congress president Rahul Gandhi. “There is an urgent need to unite the country at a time when divisive forces are spreading hatred and breaking up the country. Politics is all about connecting to people. Through this yatra we will reach out to them, listen to their problems and amplify their voices,” Mr. Singh said. The yatra, equally, is the Congress's effort to reconnect to the masses, he said.
The decision to hold the yatra was taken during the three-day introspection session that the party held in Udaipur. Announcing the yatra, Congress president Sonia Gandhi had said, “The yatra is to strengthen the bonds of social harmony that are under stress, to preserve the foundational values of our Constitution that are under assault and to highlight the day-to-day concerns of crores of our people.”
The yatra comes ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, though insiders insist that it should not be connected to the electoral contests. “Both the country and the Congress are going through a difficult time and both of these things are interlinked,” a senior leader said.
The party is still debating on whether the yatra will be covered on foot or by road, whether it will extend up to six weeks or go on for a longer duration, up to six-months. Nine Assembly elections are scheduled for 2023 beginning with Nagaland, Tripura and Meghalaya in February and Karnataka in May. Between November and December 2023, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram and Telangana will go to the polls.
