Member of Parliament Rahul Gandhi will undertake a Bharat Nyaya Yatra focussed on justice from ethnic violence-hit Manipur to Mumbai beginning January 14, covering 6200 km over three months mostly by bus across 14 states in the run-up to the national polls due in summer of 2024.
Congress leader KC Venugopal made the announcement on Wednesday days after Gandhi promised to do whatever the party wanted him to after the Congress Working Committee (CWC) on December 21 urged him to take out another yatra.
Last year, Gandhi completed the country’s largest foot march—Bharat Jodo Yatra—covering 4500 km over 150 days from Kanyakumari to Kashmir.
“....Bharat Nyaya Yatra...will end on March 20... this yatra is going to enthuse the youth, women, and all marginalised people,” Venugopal said.
Venugopal said that Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge will flag off the yatra in Imphal on January 14. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said that the Bharat Nyay Yatra will focus on economic, social, and political justice and cover Manipur, Nagaland, Assam, Meghalaya, West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Maharashtra.
Venugopal said the yatra will cover 14 states and 85 districts. He called Manipur one of the important parts of the Northeast and added they also wanted to try to heal the wounds of the state, where the ethnic violence has since May left over 175 people dead and displaced thousands. “This is not a political yatra. We are going to raise the issues of the common people,” said Venugopal.
{{/usCountry}}Venugopal said the yatra will cover 14 states and 85 districts. He called Manipur one of the important parts of the Northeast and added they also wanted to try to heal the wounds of the state, where the ethnic violence has since May left over 175 people dead and displaced thousands. “This is not a political yatra. We are going to raise the issues of the common people,” said Venugopal.
{{/usCountry}}The yatra is expected to galvanize the ground-level Congress workers ahead of the national elections. Venugopal maintained it would not affect the poll preparations. “We will have a separate mechanism [for election].”