Patna:Congress on Thursday began its 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' in Bihar from the Banka district. The state-wide padayatra was flagged off by Congress National President Mallikarjun Kharge. Bihar Congress President Akhilesh Singh, Congress Legislature Party leader Ajit Sharma, and many senior leaders and lawmakers took part in the yatra.
The 1,200-km-long foot march started from Mandar Hill in the Banka district and will cover 17 districts, before concluding in Gaya. The yatra was taken out in the presence of thousands of Congress workers. "This yatra is being taken out to get the country out of the bad situation, to remove bigotry and hatred, to end inflation and unemployment," said a Congress official.
Also read:Congress to launch state-wide padayatra in Bihar from Dec 28
During the rally, Kharge lashed out at the BJP accusing the ruling party at the Centre of hurting the sentiments of the Jain community by declaring their pilgrimage cites as tourist destinations. He demanded that the Centre must ensure that the sanctity of Jain pilgrimages be maintained.
"The BJP is insulting the sentiments of the Jain community by declaring holy pilgrimage sites of Jainism like Holy Sammed Shikharji, Shatrunjaya Hills of Palitana, and Mount Girnar as tourist destinations. Keeping in mind the public sentiment, we demand from the Modi government that the sanctity of Jain pilgrimages should be maintained. The beliefs of the Jain community inspired Mahatma Gandhi's 'Ahimsa' and 'Satyagraha'. Congress party respects all religions," said Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge.
The padayatra was earlier scheduled to be launched on December 28 but was later deferred. Congress did not mention any reason for deferring the yatra. Bihar Congress has set up district-level committees, comprising senior party leaders, to oversee the preparation for the foot march.
