Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh): Amarjit Singh Dulat, former Cheif of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) and former special director of the Indian Intelligence Bureau, joined Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra on Tuesday in New Delhi.
Besides this, National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah, shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi, congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, congress leader Alka Lamba and several other leaders also joined Bharat Jodo Yatra on Tuesday.
The stretch leading towards Ghaziabad from Kashmiri Gate was decked with tricolours and balloons as Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra resumed on Tuesday from Delhi. Scores of Congress leaders and workers gathered at Hanuman Mandir in Yamuna Bazar, from where the Yatra resumed, holding flags, banners and chanting the slogan 'Bharat Jodo'.
Congress leaders Alka Lamba, Spokesperson Shama Mohamed and MP Jothimani were seen in today's Delhi leg of Yatra. Shama Mohamed said, "Congress has sent the invitation to the leaders of the Opposition. Some people could not make it. But they have extended their wishes. That's a positive message."
Alka Lamba said, "We want to ask the Delhi government and the BJP government at the centre. What has been done for the security of women? One decade has passed since 2012. Still, incidents like Kanjhawala happened. The issue of women's security is also getting prominence from the Yatra."
Party workers joined the Yatra amid singing of patriotic songs and beating of drums, as they proceeded towards Uttar Pradesh. Camps were set up by Congress workers and members at various points across the route towards Ghaziabad. Small cultural events were also organised at several points along the way.
While many yatris were spotted wearing white T-shirts with picture of Rahul Gandhi on it, several others joined the Yatra wrapping tricolour scarf around their neck. Many citizens also gathered across the road and their terraces to catch a glimpse of the Yatra. A large number of police personnel were deployed and roads were intercepted with barricades at several locations to provide the yatra a safe passage. The security arrangements were heightened at the Uttar Pradesh border near Loni, where the flag handover ceremony took place.
Before it reached the national capital, the foot march covered more than 130 kilometres in Haryana between December 21 and December 23 passing through the Nuh, Gurugram, and Faridabad districts of the state. A mass contact initiative of the Congress, the Yatra started from Kanyakumari on September 7 and since then has passed through Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana and Delhi in its first phase. The Yatra will remain in Uttar Pradesh for two days and will enter Haryana's Panipat by Thursday evening. After traversing Punjab and a day through Himachal Pradesh, the Yatra will enter Jammu and Kashmir, where it will conclude.
It is the longest march on foot by any Indian politician in the history of India, the Congress has claimed. With this yatra, Rahul Gandhi aims to mobilise the party cadre and unite the general public against the BJP's "divisive politics in the country.
