Bharat Jodo Yatra can send the message 'Congress uniting India', says Shashi Tharoor

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said that the upcoming Bharat Jodo Yatra can unite party followers across the country around its values and ideals. He is preparing to launch the 3,570 km long journey from Kanyakumari to Kashmir tomorrow.

The Yatra will start from Kanyakumari and pass through Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Nilambur, Mysuru, Bellary, Raichur, Vikarabad, Nanded, Jalgaon, Indore, Kota, Dausa, Alwar, Bulandshahr, Delhi, Ambala, Pathankot, Jammu. It will end in Srinagar.

He is speculated to run for the post of Congress president in the upcoming election. However, he clarified that a decision has not been taken. Tharoor said that many leaders will contest the upcoming elections which will give a wider choice to the electors.

The notification of the election is on September 22 and Tharoor said he will make a decision by then.

He added that he hopes that the Yatra will send the message that Congress is the party that can unite India. "If the public is sufficiently inspired by this message, it will indeed inaugurate the revival of the party."

He was answering a question about former Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad's statement saying the party should be taking a Congress Jodo journey instead of Bharat Jode. Tharoor said that Azad is a respected leader and he does not wish to comment on his specific remarks.

"But I will say that the Bharat Jodo Yatra could also unite Congressmen and women across the country around our values and ideals as well as around service to the people, by raising issues that matter to the people and showing them that we are fighting for them. Then it could be both Bharat Jodo and Congress Jodo," he added.

When asked about the upcoming election, he told PTI that he has welcomed the fact that an election will be held. "I believe that is very good for the party. After all, which other political party has had an open election for its top post among such a large electorate of almost 10,000 voters? Of course, it is gratifying that this general statement of democratic principle has immediately led to large numbers of people around the country welcoming the prospect of my contesting."

About the current battle of ideologies in India, he said the country in many ways is engaged in an existential struggle to defend the ideas of India enshrined in the Constitution. "As long as we survive, there will be many other seemingly decisive phases. But whatever happens, we should never surrender to majoritarianism."