Bharat Jodo Yatra to resume on Sunday afternoon, Rahul Gandhi to attend MP Santokh Singh Chaudhary’s cremation

Addressing a press conference at Goraya in Jalandhar, Ramesh said on Saturday afternoon that the yatra was suspended in honour of the deceased leader. A Rahul Gandhi press conference scheduled for Sunday will also not take place, he said, adding that Gandhi will now address a press conference at Hoshiarpur on January 17.

Ramesh said that after they got the tragic news at around 9 am, the yatra was immediately suspended, and from there, Rahul Gandhi went to his residence.

Sukhjinder Singh said that Chaudhary belongs to a family that had dedicated its entire life to Congress. “It is a big loss to the Congress. As a Dalit leader, he has been serving for decades in the state,” said Randhawa.

श्री @RahulGandhi जी ने कांग्रेस परिवार के वरिष्ठ नेता, लोकसभा सांसद संतोख चौधरी जी की पार्थिव देह पर पुष्प अर्पित कर श्रद्धांजलि दी और परिजनों को ढाढस बंधाया।

कांग्रेस परिवार हमेशा संतोख जी के परिजनों के साथ खड़ा रहेगा। pic.twitter.com/rTLv5kVK4a

— Congress (@INCIndia) January 14, 2023

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While replying to a question about the yatra having nothing to do with elections, Ramesh said, “It is a yatra of a political party, not a chunav jito or chunav jitao (to win the election) yatra. It is being taken out with a political aim against economic disparities, social polarisation and political dictatorship.”

To carry forward the “successes achieved during this yatra”, the Congress will start the ‘Haath Se Haath Jodo’ campaign from January 26 to March 26, he added. Under this campaign, the Congress will cover 2.50 lakh Gram Panchayats, 6 lakh villages and 10 lakh polling booths to take the message of this Yatra and to disclose “the failed promises of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government”, Ramesh added.

While the ‘Hath Jodo’ campaign is directly linked to elections, the Bharat Jodo Yatra is linked to an ideology, said Ramesh, adding that this campaign is being launched in connection with the ensuing elections in the nine states in 2023 and Lok Sabha elections of 2024. This campaign will take place at the block, district and state levels. Different programmes will be organised, including ‘Mahila Yatras’, at the state level.

Ramesh said that 23 parties have been invited to date to join them in Srinagar during the last leg of the Bharat Jodo Yatra, where they will stay till January 30, Mahatma Gandhi’s death anniversary. “This yatra is dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi,” he said.

“Those parties which believe in Bharat Jodo Yatra have been invited to this meeting. BJP’s B team, C team or D team are not invited,” said Ramesh, adding that Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), AIADMK, BJD etc. have not been invited.

Farooq Abdullah, ex-president of Jammu and Kashmir National Conference, and Mehbooba Mufti of Jammu and Kashmir People’s Democratic Party have been invited, he said. There is no need to invite former Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, who had founded Democratic Azad Party, which is yet to be registered, as all his men have already returned to the Congress fold, Ramesh added.