New Delhi: Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra was based on an ideological plank and does not aim at building opposition unity for the 2024 national elections, the Congress said on Saturday, two days ahead of the nationwide foot march concluding in Srinagar on January 30.
In order to mark the conclusion of the yatra, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge had invited around 23 like-minded parties to attend the big rally on January 30 which was being billed as a show of opposition unity against the Centre. However, some parties like the SP, BSP, and TMC are likely to skip the show due to political considerations.
“I know a view is going around that it is a setback. But it is not a setback. The yatra was based on an ideological agenda and the political talks for an opposition alliance will start after the yatra,” Congress communications in-charge Jairam Ramesh. According to party insiders, around 13 of the 23 parties are expected to send a representative to the Congress rally on January 30. These include DMK, NC, PDP, RJD, JD-U, VCK, IUML, RSP, Forward Bloc, NCP, BSP, CPI and Kerala Congress.
“Those who are not coming may have some pre-occupation. I believe somebody from the BSP is coming. The JD-S president has written a letter to Rahul Gandhi and has sent his wishes for the yatra while expressing his inability to attend the rally,” Ramesh clarified. The January 30 rally is not a coalition-building exercise, the Congress leader said, adding that invitations were sent to like-minded parties in good faith as they are all opposed to the BJP’s ideology.
“The NC, PDP and CPI-M have all welcomed the yatra,” he said. Technically, Rahul Gandhi’s Kanyakumari to Kashmir yatra would end on January 29 when he along with the 200 permanent yatris would have walked around 4,080 km over and above the 3,500 km planned at the start of the foot march on September 7, 2022.
The yatra took around 136 days to pass through 75 districts to reach Srinagar, including the 9-day break in Delhi in December during which the yatris walked for around 116 days covering an average of 23-24 km per day through heat, rain, biting cold and snow. Besides the long distance covered, the public response to the yatra through the 12 states and 2 UTs has lifted the spirits of the grand old party, which is planning to stage a mega show at Srinagar’s Sher-e-Kashmir stadium on January 30.
Before that, Rahul would hoist the national flag at the JKPCC office in the famous Lal Chowk area, where the flag was to be unfurled initially. The plan was changed due to security considerations and also the fact that the party needed some permanent structures like a 75- feet high flag pole to mark the event. “A galaxy of party leaders from across the country will attend the rally. Our three chief ministers will also come,” said J&K Congress chief Vikar Rasool Wani. “The stadium was the only place available to us. We will try to manage the crowds to the best of our ability,” he said.
To keep the focus on the central aim of the yatra, the Congress managers have refrained from directly touching upon controversial issues like the removal of Article 370, which has a national significance, but did not shy away from batting for the restoration of full statehood for Jammu and Kashmir and holding of assembly elections at the earliest to restart the democratic process in the troubled border region, which was converted into twin UTs J&K and Ladakh in 2019.
“Rahul Gandhi has been flagging issues like growing economic disparity and lack of jobs in the country. The issue is relevant to J&K, which has the highest rate of unemployment. Not everyone can get a government job and there are no private jobs here as there is no industry in Kashmir,” former J&K Congress chief Ghulam Ahmed Mir said. “There has been no political process here for 9 years,” said Vikar Rasool.
On his part, Ramesh said that UT Ladakh should be governed under Schedule VI of the Constitution as it provides for a local council consisting of elected members instead of a senior bureaucrat running the border region from New Delhi. As the Congress prepares to host the convergence of 13 like-minded parties in Srinagar on January 30, it has carefully avoided references or any commitment to the Gupkar Alliance in J&K.
“The time to address such issues would be later, not now,” said Ramesh, indicating he did not want to get the party’s focus diverted from the idea behind Rahul Gandhi’s strenuous 4,000 km walk from south to north India. “The yatra has united the people against the hatred being spread which has divided people on the basis of caste, religion, food, and culture. That was the purpose behind the yatra,” the Congress veteran added.
