On this day a year ago, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi embarked on a 4,000 km-journey ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ to eradicate hatred in India. Joining the celebration of the success, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said the yatra will continue till hatred is eradicated and India is united.
"The crores of steps of Bharat Jodo Yatra towards unity and love have become the foundation of a better tomorrow for the country," said Gandhi in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
“The journey continues – till hatred is eradicated, till India unites. This is my promise!,” he added.
Gandhi also shared a video montage on X of his over 4,000 km Kanyakumari to Kashmir yatra.
During the anniversary, the Congress party is planning to organise foot marches across the country with members of the Congress Working Committee, state Congress presidents, and Congress legislature party leaders. Bharat Jodo rally will be held in all 722 districts.
However, Gandhi, who is currently in Brussels, Europe, will not be there to mark the anniversary of the yatra. Gandhi is set to hold a meet with the Members of the European Parliament on Thursday.
Gandhi addressed 12 public meetings, over 100 street corner meetings and 13 press conferences during his yatra.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said that the yatra is a “people’s movement”. “The Yatra continues to fight the menace of hate and hostility in our society through a conversation...The Bharat Jodo Yatra is not just a physical endeavour, it is a sincere effort to rebuild our broken collective conscience,” said Kharge.
Hitting out at PM Modi, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said that the entire exercise was not a ‘Mann ki Baat’ for Rahul Gandhi, while it was an opportunity to listen to ‘Janta ki Chinta’. The yatra was a transformative event in Indian politics, he said.
The yatra also saw the participation of several known celebrities including Pooja Bhatt, Kamal Haasan, Riya Sen and Swara Bhasker. Former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan, former Army chief Gen (Retd) Deepak Kapoor, and ex-Navy chief Admiral (Retd) L. Ramdas also took part in the yatra.
According to experts, the yatra was able to transform Gandhi’s overall image. Even opposition leaders including National Conference's Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah, PDP's Mehbooba Mufti, Shiv Sena's Aaditya Thackeray, Priyanka Chaturvedi and Sanjay Raut and NCP's Supriya Sule joined the yatra.