Congress general secretary KC Venugopal on Wednesday said that the Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra will start from Manipur ‘at any cost’ and that the grand old party is ready to cooperate with the northeastern government.
The Congress leader said that the party does not want to politicise the Yatra, scheduled to be flagged off from Imphal this week.
“Bharat Jodo Yatra will start from Manipur at any cost. We are going ahead with the programme…We don’t want to politicise this Yatra. We don’t want to make any issues on Manipur also. This is a peaceful demonstration which we are doing and asking for justice for the people of India especially people of Manipur. That’s why we are starting the Yatra from the northeastern state. We are ready to cooperate with the government, on whatever level we can do. But we are very sure that we will start the Yatra from Manipur itself,” Venugopal said.
This came after Manipur Chief Minister Biren Singh’s statement that permission for Yatra can be given only after receiving reports regarding the law and order situation from security agencies.
“The prevailing law and order situation in the state is very critical. Giving permission to Rahul Gandhi’s rally is under active consideration, we are taking reports from various security agencies. After receiving the reports, we will take a concrete decision,” said Biren Singh.
Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra will commence from Imphal on January 14 and cover a distance of 6,713 km, straddling 100 Lok Sabha constituencies and 337 assembly segments and covering 110 districts.
Rahul Gandhi is all set to cover key constituencies, including Amethi, Rae Bareli and Varanasi.
The march will culminate in Mumbai on March 20 or 21. The slogan of the Yatra is “Nyay ka haq milne tak”.
The Congress unveiled the logo and slogan of the party’s upcoming Yatra on January 6.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh, and General Secretary KC Venugopal were present for the unveiling event held at All India Congress Committee headquarters in Delhi.
“Under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi, we are starting ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’ from January 14. ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’ is our strong step towards providing economic, social, and political justice to the country’s people,” Kharge said at the event. (ANI)