The Opposition Congress, which launched its Bharat Jodo Yatra from Kanyakumari to Kashmir on Wednesday, will hold a special meeting in Guwahati on September 16 to finalise plans for the Northeast events linked to the Yatra.
The Yatra is aimed at uniting Indians against economic inequality, social divisiveness and the erosion of constitutional rights.
The journey from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu will cover a distance of 3,500 km in about 150 days and pass through 12 states and two Union Territories but will not touch any of the northeastern or eastern states. The states and UTs to be covered include Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir.
Assam PCC president Bhupen Kumar Borah told The Telegraph that senior Congress leaders Jairam Ramesh and Digvijaya Singh will visit Guwahati on September 16 in connection with the Yatra vis-a-vis the Northeast.
“They will come and plan for the Northeast leg with us. It will be a special meeting on the Yatra. The Yatra will continue for around five months. Lot of things have been planned,” Borah said from Delhi, adding a 20-member team of senior leaders from Assam joined the launch of the Yatra in Kanyakumari.
Both Ramesh and Singh are key members of the groups set up for the planning and smooth execution of the yatra.
Singh, a former Madhya Pradesh chief minister, had been a former in-charge of the Assam PCC when the late Tarun Gogoi was the chief minister.
The PCC president also said as part of the launch the state PCC held an all-faith prayer and lighted diyas at the party headquarters here to the block levels on Wednesday.
“We have also urged our party members and office-bearers from state, zilla and block levels to light diyas at their homes as part of the yatra to create awareness about the yatra,” he said.
Meghalaya PCC also organised an all-faith prayer on Wednesday. Rallies were taken out in Agartala and Itanagar as part of the rally on Thursday.
The AICC had said the states through which the yatra does not pass is organising a door-to-door campaign to reach every to communicate the message of the yatra.
Assam PCC senior spokesperson Bobbeeta Sharma said the party was taking a step through the foot march to begin a direct dialogue with the masses on the “serious issues” confronting the country, including the nightmare of price rise, unemployment and social tension under the ruling BJP.
“Institutions like Parliament and the media are no longer available to discuss the issues that we face in our lives. Instead, systematic efforts are being made to subvert our Constitution. Through the yatra we will connect with social activists, intellectuals, other political parties and lakhs of ordinary people to begin a conversation on how to tackle these grievous challenges,” Sharma said.
