File Photo: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi with his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and supporters during the Bharat Jodo Yatra, in Srinagar.
Credit: PTI File Photo
New Delhi: Congress on Thursday rebranded the 6,713 km Imphal-Mumbai yatra to be led by Rahul Gandhi as 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' and included Arunachal Pradesh as the 15th state, in a bid to capitalise on the recall value of previous Bharat Jodo Yatra.
The yatra in a customised bus and on foot, which covers 110 districts, 100 Lok Sabha seats and 337 Assembly segments, will pass through Rahul Gandhi's previous Lok Sabha seat Amethi, Sonia Gandhi's Rae Bareli, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Varanasi and Scindia bastion Guna among others. I.N.D.I.A bloc leaders will be invited for the programme.
The party had earlier announced the Rahul-led programme as 'Bharat Nyay Yatra' but following demands raised at a meeting of party general secretaries, state in-charges, state presidents and Legislature Party leaders, it was decided to rechristen it. The leaders argued that the success of Bharat Jodo Yatra led to the programme becoming a brand in itself.
Congress General Secretary (Communications) Jairam Ramesh told a press conference that the Bharat Jodo Yatra got embedded in the minds of the people and one should not lose its value. The party also added Arunachal Pradesh in its itinerary, saying they withheld an earlier announcement as they had not gotten the requisite permission to hold the yatra earlier.
The final route of the yatra, which starts from Imphal on January 14 and pass through Kohima, Itanagar, Cooch Behar, Guwahati, Siliguri, Purnia, Dhanbad, Ranchi, Agra, Gwalior, Ujjain, Guna, Malegaon and concludes in Mumbai on March 20, was finalised at the meeting chaired by Kharge.
Explaining the rationale behind naming it 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra', Jairam Ramesh said that the idea of both the yatras had its inspiration from the first line of Preamble of Constitution. He said that the Bharat Jodo Yatra concentrated on the aspects of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity while the latest one will focus on 'nyay' or justice on social, economic and political fronts.
The Uttar Pradesh leg of the yatra will be the longest as Rahul will cover 1,074 km in the state in 11 days covering 20 districts. In West Bengal, the yatra will cover 523 km and seven districts in five days, while in Assam, it is 833 km and 17 districts in eight days.
The yatra will travel five days in Gujarat covering 445 km and seven districts, while in Maharashtra, it will be 480 km in five days covering six districts. In Manipur, Rahul will cover 107 km in one day covering four districts before entering Nagaland.