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Key parties to skip rally marking Bharat Jodo Yatra culmination in Srinagar
The rally marking the Bharat Jodo Yatra culmination is expected to be a show of Opposition unity a year before the national elections
Allies have been among the key parties that have expressed their inability in joining the rally to mark the culmination of Congress’s Bharat Jodo Yatra in Srinagar on Monday. The rally is expected to be a show of Opposition unity a year before the national elections.
On January 11, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge invited leaders from 24 like-minded parties to the rally.
In a tweet, former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda on Tuesday said he was invited to the rally but will be unable to attend it. He conveyed his “deep appreciation” for Gandhi for his achievement of walking the length of the nation for harmony.
The yatra, which began on September 7 and covered around 3,600 km from Kanyakumari, is Congress’s biggest public outreach in decades.
Chief minister Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) or JD(U), which is an alliance partner of the Congress in Bihar, has also expressed its inability to attend the rally.
“Much as I would like to be present at the historical event, I regret my inability to do so as I need to be present at the launching of the party’s election campaign in Nagaland the same day,” JD (U) leader Rajiv Ranjan (Lallan) Singh wrote to Kharge.
“There are no two opinions that there is a decline in democratic values in the country and the constitutional institutions that are supposed to ensure checks and balances on unrestrained executive power are being systematically destroyed.”
West Bengal’s ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC)’s top leadership is also unlikely to attend the event. A TMC leader said they are trying to carve out their own space in the Opposition block.
“Is the yatra being led by the Congress president or would Kharge be the key speaker at the event? No. Rahul Gandhi, an MP [Member of Parliament] from Wayanad [Kerala], will be the central attraction. Why should we go to Rahul Gandhi’s programme?”
TMC’s leader in Rajya Sabha Derek O’Brien said all parties in the Opposition are like-minded. “But within these like-minded parties, there are two distinct types of relationships.”
He added there are parties that are not in alliance with the Congress or are running governments in alliance with the party such as Tamil Nadu’s Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). “We are in the first category. Remember, 18 months ago Congress and the Left took on us in Bengal [polls].”
A Congress strategist said the Communist Party of India (CPI) has confirmed its presence at the rally but the Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPI (M) is unlikely to join.
CPI (M) allied with Congress for the 2021 Bengal elections. The two have announced an alliance for the Tripura polls this year. “CPI (M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury and the party’s local stalwart MA Tarigami have not sent us any confirmation about their presence,” said the strategist, requesting anonymity.
Some other parties are expected to send their second-rung leaders.
In his letter to the like-minded parties, Kharge said they will commit to fighting hatred and violence at the event in Srinagar, spread the message of truth, compassion, and non-violence, and defend the constitutional values of liberty, equality, fraternity, and justice for all.
“At this time of crisis in our country, where public attention is systematically diverted from people’s issues, the Yatra has emerged as a powerful voice. I hope you will participate and further strengthen its message.”
Kharge said from the beginning of the yatra, they have invited the participation of every like-minded Indian. “At the invitation of...Rahul Gandhi, MPs of several political parties have also walked in the Yatra at different stages,” Kharge said.
The Congress did not invite Aam Aadmi Party, Bharat Rashtra Samithi, Biju Janata Dal, and Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party to the event.
