The Bharat Jodo Yatra will pass through Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Nilambur, Mysuru, Bellary, Raichur, Vikarabad, Nanded, Jalgaon, Indore, Kota, Dausa, Alwar, Bulandshahr, Delhi, Ambala, Pathankot, Jammu, and end in Srinagar.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will visit Sriperumbudur, the memorial of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, and pay his respects on Wednesday. The yatra will cover 12 States and two Union Territories and cover a distance of 3,500 km in about 5 months.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin will present a national flag made of khadi to Gandhi who will hand it over to Seva Dal workers who will manage the Yatra throughout.
After the event at the Mahatma Gandhi Mandapam where Stalin will be present, Rahul Gandhi and other Congress leaders will walk to the seaside venue of the rally where the yatra will be formally launched.
The march will move in two batches – from 7 am to 10:30 am and from 3:30 pm to 6:30 pm. While the morning session will include fewer participants, the evening session will see mass mobilisation. The participants plan to walk around 22 to 23 km daily.
The Congress has asserted its Yatra is not a 'Mann Ki Baat', but to ensure people's concerns reach Delhi.
During the Bharat Jodo Yatra, Gandhi, accompanied by 118 leaders, will interact with various groups.
It has classified 119 leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, as 'Bharat Yatris' who will walk the entire route. About 30% of 'Bharat Yatris' are women. The average age of Bharat Yatris is 38. About 50,000 citizens have also registered to participate in the Yatra.
More than 200 civil society members have appealed to the people to support the Congress’ upcoming 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' and similar initiatives by any other organisation to defend against the "systematic assault" on the unity and democracy of India.
"Let us all make Bharat Jodo Yatra the decisive step towards renewing our pledge to reclaim an India that is a sovereign, socialist, secular and democratic republic with liberty, equality, justice and fraternity as its guiding lights," a civil society member said.
Swaraj India founder Yogendra Yadav, document filmmaker Anand Patwardhan, All India Secular Front's Anil Sadgopal, rights activist Anjali Bharadwaj, theatre maker Anuradha Kapur, eminent journalist Mrinal Pande, former MP Dharamveer Gandhi and former IAS officers Abhijit Sengupta and Sujata Rao are among the 204 civil society members who signed to the appeal.
