RAICHUR: Congress MP Rahul Gandhi resumed the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ from Yeragera village in Raichur district on Saturday.
He was accompanied by B K Hariprasad and other leaders while KPCC chief D K Shivakumar and Opposition leader Siddaramaiah joined later.
The yatra participants broke for tea and breakfast at the house of one Uppal Narasappa at Mittimalkapura and proceeded towards Raichur, where the participants stopped for lunch at Brindavan Hotel on the outskirts, after covering a distance of 16 km. Post lunch, the padayatra will resume at 4 pm. He is expected to address a gathering at Basaveshwara Circle Ground around 5.30 pm on Saturday.
Shivakumar announced that the Yatra’s second leg in Karnataka will end at 11 am on Sunday. He also expressed confidence that the Congress will win 150 seats in the next Assembly election.
“On this day in 1963, then PM, Jawaharlal Nehru dedicated the Bhakra Nangal Dam to the nation. A pioneering development project aimed at boosting India’s industrial prowess, this engineering marvel was one of the ‘temples of modern India’ commissioned by Nehru ji,” Congress tweeted.
The party also said, “On this day in 2008, India launched its first Moon Mission, Chandrayaan-1 under the leadership of then PM Dr Manmohan Singh, the launch of which marked the first step of a historic milestone in India’s space programme.”
The Yatra, which began on September 7 from Kanyakumari, will cover a further distance of 2,355 km in its 3,570 km long march.
The Andhra Pradesh leg of the Bharat Jodo Yatra concluded on October 21. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday thanked the people for their overwhelming support and promised to fulfill the commitments made by him to the people the state.
In a letter to the people of Andhra Pradesh, the Wayanad MP said, “…as the Bharat Jodo Yatra completes its journey through Andhra Pradesh, we thank the people for their overwhelming support and encouragement. It has truly been a memorable experience.”
He said that the interactions with diverse groups during the Yatra in Andhra Pradesh have brought to light several significant issues impacting the people.
“The Congress party stands committed to granting special category status to Andhra Pradesh and develop a single capital at Amaravati. We support the continued public sector status of the Visakhapatnam steel plant as an asset of the Indian people. We noted that the state government has systematically undermined the Panchayati Raj system in Andhra Pradesh, and are strongly opposed to this assault on democratic institutions. We will also continue to amplify the voice of farmers, youth, women, workers and many other stakeholders whom we interacted with over the last three days,” the Congress leader said.
Recalling the commitments made in 2014 to the people of Andhra Pradesh, the former Congress president said that his party is determined to ensure that the commitments made by them are fulfilled. The Andhra Pradesh leg of Congress’s Bharat Jodo Yatra concluded on Friday as the march once again crossed into Karnataka.
Rahul Gandhi resumed the padayatra at Mantralayam Temple Circle in Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh on Friday morning. He crossed the Andhra border at Panchmukhi Arch, Gillesugur, Raichur, in Karnataka.
Rahul Gandhi had earlier said that the Yatra drew a tremendous response in Andhra Pradesh and pointed out that his party leaders were also quite surprised at the enthusiasm and response that the Bharat Jodo Yatra had.
The Yatra entered Andhra Pradesh on October 18.
The Bharat Jodo Yatra, launched on September 7, will cover as many as 12 states. The Yatra started from Kanyakumari and will end in Kashmir the following year by covering 25 km every day.
The 3,500-km yatra will be a historic event for the Congress and the entire country. It is the longest march on foot by any Indian politician in the history of India, the Congress said earlier in a statement. (With Agency Inputs)