Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge with the party leader KC Venugopal during the launch of logo and anthem for the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, in New Delhi, Saturday, Jan. 6, 2024.
Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday said his party is taking out the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra as the government did not give it a chance to raise issues in Parliament.
The Rahul Gandhi-led Manipur-to-Maharashtra yatra, which will begin on January 14, will cover 6,713 km and its participants will travel on buses and foot.
"The Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra will focus on basic social, political and economic issues of the country," Kharge told a press conference here.
He added that I.N.D.I.A bloc leaders and members of the civil society have also been invited to join the march along its route.
The Congress had earlier said that the east-to-west Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra would prove to be as impactful and transformative as the earlier south-to-north Bharat Jodo Yatra from Kanyakumari to Kashmir.
The Congress is taking out the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra as 'the government did not give us the chance to raise our issues in Parliament', Kharge said and added that 'we will listen to people through this platform (yatra)'. The yatra being organised ahead of the 2024 general elections will cover 110 districts, 100 Lok Sabha seats and 337 assembly segments in 66 days, starting from Manipur capital Imphal.
Targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Kharge said unfortunate incidents have taken place in Manipur and the prime minister who speaks everywhere and does photo sessions has not visited the state.
He also attacked the BJP government at the Centre, alleging that it is blatantly misusing agencies such as the Enforcement Directorate and the Income Tax Department to threaten opposition leaders.
On whether he would attend the January 22 Ram temple consecration ceremony, Kharge said he has got an invite for the ceremony and will decide on it very soon.
Referring to the new labour laws and criminal laws, the Congress chief said the legislations that have been brought by the government show signs of dictatorship.