New Delhi: Following a nine-day hiatus for the holiday season, the Congress' Bharat Jodo Yatra resumed its second leg of the journey from the national capital on Tuesday and reached Uttar Pradesh.
As the march entered the state, party workers gathered in a line on either side of the road at the Loni border in Ghaziabad to welcome Rahul Gandhi and other "yatris."
AICC general secretary in-charge for Uttar Pradesh Priyanka Gandhi Vadra joined the Yatra and welcomed her brother in presence of leaders of the Uttar Pradesh Congress and Delhi Congress.
The Yatra flag was handed over between the leaders of both states at a specially made stage.
AICC general secretary K C Venugopal, Delhi Congress chief Anil Kumar Chaudhary, and Congress leaders of Uttar Pradesh, including CLP leader Aradhna Mishra, were among those present.
Led by former party chief Rahul Gandhi, the yatra had started from the Hanuman Mandir at Kashmiri Gate in the morning as it made its way through the busy Outer Ring Road.
As the Yatra moved forward in Delhi, a huge police force was deployed to ensure there was no untoward incident.
However, traffic in several parts of the city on the Ring Road was thrown out of gear.
AICC in-charge for Delhi affairs of the party Shaktisinh Gohil said he saw a great turnout in Delhi and leaders of various opposition parties will join the Yatra.
"Farooq Abdullah will join us in the Yatra. Priyanka Gandhi will join us from the Loni border. So far, the Yatra has been a huge success and we have received a great response from the public," he said.
Senior Congress leader Jai Prakash Agarwal said Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra is echoing the voice of the citizens.
"He's interacting and listening to the problems of the common man. So far, the Yatra has been very successful. We have received an overwhelming response," he noted.
The Yatra will remain in Uttar Pradesh for two days and will enter Haryana's Panipat by Thursday evening.
After traversing Punjab and a day through Himachal Pradesh, the Yatra will enter Jammu and Kashmir. Starting from Kanyakumari on September 7, the Yatra has so far travelled over 3,000 km.
It will conclude on January 30 in Srinagar with the hoisting of the national flag by Rahul Gandhi.
With PTI inputs