Shamli/Panipat: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday began the Bharat Jodo Yatra in Uttar Pradesh on the 111th day. Gandhi began the yatra from Shamli in Uttar Pradesh from where the yatra will enter Haryana on Thursday evening. Gandhi, along with senior Congress leaders Jairam Ramesh, State President Brijlal Khabri, Aradhana Mishra, Akhilesh Pratap Singh reached the village of Shamli where they addressed the media.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said, “Shankaracharya, too, had travelled from Kanyakumari to Kashmir and Rahulji is following suit”. Ramesh said that till now Bharat Jodo Yatra has covered a distance of 2,300 km, which includes 54 districts. He said that they will start the Haryana leg on Friday where they will stay for four-and-a-half days.
January 12 and 13 will be rest days, he said before the yatra enters Punjab and Himachal Pradesh for one day. The yatra will culminate in Jammu and Kashmir on January 30. Rahul Gandhi will unfurl the tricolour in Srinagar on January 30. Over a question why the UP leg of the yatra was of short duration, Jairam Ramesh said the yatra has already been taken out by the party in 75 districts of Uttar Pradesh.
Also read: Congress' Bharat Jodo Yatra resumes journey on second day of Uttar Pradesh leg
“In 2023, the Bharat Jodo Yatra will be taken out from West to East. Then the districts, which have been left out of the main yatra, will also be included,” he added. Speaking on the Kairana exodus of Hindus, UP State President Brajlal Khabri and state spokesperson Aradhana Mishra said that the people of Kairana have “given a befitting reply to the BJP” by defeating Mriganka Singh, daughter of late MP Hukum Singh.
Meanwhile, the Haryana Congress have made the preparations for the night stay for Rahul and team members ahead of the state leg of Bharat Jodo Yatra beginning Friday. The first night halt of Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra in Haryana will be at Sanauli Khurd. About 1.45 acres of land belonging to a farmers Muniram Tyagi alias Bhalu and Sandeep Tyagi of the village have been cleared.
A standing wheat crop was cleared on the land after the farmers' consent. A month ago Rahul Gandhi's team had visited the village and received the farmers' consent to use the land for Rahul's stay. On January 6, Rahul Gandhi will walk about 13 kilometers from Sanauli to Sanjay Chowk in Panipat district.
During the yatra, the Congress leader faces broken roads and potholes at 12 places on the highway. On January 7, Rahul will leave for Karnal district in the morning from where he will proceed further via Kurukshetra and Ambala. Rahul's team has arranged 52 travel containers having accommodation and food arrangements, while eight containers have facilities for toilets. The CRPF and CISF is looking after the security of Rahul and his team. Apart from this, NSG commandos have also been deployed for his protection. The district police will keep an outer circle of the security.
