Journalism of Courage
The Congress will form a committee to evaluate the success of the Bharat Jodo Yatra in Karnataka, its state unit chief D K Shivakumar said Tuesday, while claiming that the march by Rahul Gandhi has become a “political movement”.
“We are forming a committee in the state to find out from across the places he visited and the people he met, what the changes are, what more we can do, and how we can cash in on the situation. Walking 510 km in Karnataka was not a small thing,” Shivakumar said, adding that the panel would be led by former MP and working president R Dhruvanarayan. “I want all sections of the party who were a part of the journey (in the panel).”
Shivakumar also said that the Bharat Jodo Yatra began gaining traction in Karnataka after Rahul visited Badanavalu village in Chamarajanagar district on October 2. The village had been torn by violence between Dalit and Lingayat communities over 30 years ago, and several politicians have in recent times attempted to bring them together. On October 2, Rahul joined others in laying bricks for a path connecting the Dalit and Lingayat sides of the village, in a symbolic move.
During the 2018 Assembly election campaign, former BJP CM B S Yediyurappa had visited the village in a similar attempt.
Shivakumar said: “He (Rahul) made a Bharat Jodo Road and made the communities come together. They had lunch together and he was part of the lunch… This was the beginning of the turning point for the Bharat Jodo Yatra in Karnataka, and you could see that on the penultimate day of the yatra, there were more than a lakh people in Raichur. This shows the love and commitment (for the yatra) from all sections of society. Not just Congress cadres, but workers of all parties blessed him.”
Shivakumar, who claimed to have lost 2 kg during the time he joined the yatra, said: “He (Rahul) has given strength to not just the Congress but given confidence to all politicians that we can transform (the country)… It is not just his physical strength but his mental strength and commitment that need to be appreciated.”
Former CM and Leader of Opposition Siddaramaiah, meanwhile, has proposed a Congress bus yatra across Karnataka in the run-up to the state polls in order to build on the momentum created by the Bharat Jodo Yatra. Siddaramaiah, who is in New Delhi to meet party leaders over issues concerning Karnataka and to attend the appointment of senior leader Mallikarjun Kharge as the party president on Wednesday, said the plans for the bus yatra had not yet been finalised.
