As Rahul Gandhi resumes yatra, Mallikarjun Kharge urges CM to ensure its ‘safety’

The development comes a day after Congress’ state unit chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury had alleged that TMC workers had torn posters of the yatra in Cooch Behar and threatened his party members. The Congress MP had also accused the state government of refusing to grant his party the permission for a public meeting in Siliguri. The ruling TMC had rejected the allegations, terming them as unfounded.

Kharge stated that the Congress has embarked on the ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’ from Manipur to Maharashtra to spread the message of justice to heal and unite the nation. He said Rahul Gandhi, who is leading this yatra had earlier walked from Kanyakumari to Kashmir in the Bharat Jodo Yatra, has always maintained that the yatras serve a larger purpose of uniting people who stand divided today by the BJP in the name of religion, caste and creed and to ensure that the weakest are assured of justice social, economic and political. “However, you would be aware that some miscreants targeted the current Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in your neighbouring states. This has been done on political instigation but our cadre faced it bravely,” he wrote.

“Now the yatra is passing through Bengal over the next few days. I have been made aware that again some miscreants may foment trouble for the yatra. I am not sure if the intention may be to show the state administration in bad light or to disrupt the yatra.” he said and urged her to “issue appropriate directions to ensure smooth passage of the yatra through Bengal and ensure safety of the yatris, including Gandhi.”

“I am aware that the Gandhi family and you share very cordial relations, and you would ensure that all security concerns would be addressed adequately. However, I thought it would be best if I personally write to you requesting for the same,” he said.

Chowdhury, meanwhile, criticised the TMC and said it was indulging in “political hooliganism”. Speaking to media persons in Siliguri on Saturday, Chowdhury said, “The disruption started from Cooch Behar. It is a normal yatra and there is no violence. West Bengal is showing its identity by tearing posters of Rahul Gandhi’s yatra and beating up workers, so that people are afraid to participate in the yatra. I must say one thing to the government of Bengal, whatever you want to do to us, we have no problem but Rahul Gandhi is a guest of Bengal at this moment. If you want to oppose ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’, do it politically. Do not indulge in political hooliganism.”

The yatra entered Bengal after Rahul r0eached Cooch Behar and held a roadshow in the district on Thursday. Later, he departed for New Delhi as the yatra underwent a two-day recess. “Rahul Gandhi Ji will arrive at Bagdogra airport at 11:30 am. Subsequently, he will proceed to Jalpaiguri, where the yatra will recommence. This time, the yatra will proceed both by bus and on foot, with a night stopover planned near Siliguri on Sunday night,” said Congress leader Suvankar Sarkar.

On January 29, the yatra is slated to head towards Islampur in Uttar Dinajpur district before transitioning into Bihar in the afternoon, Sarkar added. The yatra is slated to re-enter West Bengal on January 31 via Malda, traversing through Murshidabad, both renowned Congress bastions, before exiting the state on February 1.

Meanwhile, sources in the Congress said Communist Party of India (Marxist) leaders from the state are likely to join the yatra. Last week, CPI(M) leader Mohd Salim had said that the party would “give full support to Rahul Gandhi’s yatra”, but would skip it if TMC joined it. A senior leader of CPI(M) said, “We are fighting both BJP and Congress in West Bengal. We made it clear that if the TMC joins the yatra we will not. Now, it is quite clear that TMC will not join the yatra, so we have no problem in participating.”

The Bengal leg of the yatra comes amid rumblings within the INDIA bloc, with Banerjee declaring that her party would contest the Lok Sabha polls alone.

— With PTI inputs