Rahul Gandhi's BJNY dismissed by BJP as delusion, rebranding effort

New Delhi: With the Congress launching its second mega outreach programme, Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra (BJNY), to revive its fortunes just a few months before the Lok Sabha elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday labelled the campaign a "delusion" and added that the march's sole purpose is to relaunch and rebrand Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi.

Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Anurag Singh Thakur slammed the grand old party, claiming that the Nyay Yatra (March for Justice) was a misapprehension because its leaders were not getting justice within the party. He was alluding to the leaders of the Congress party who have left the party throughout the years, the New Indian Express reported.

“Today in the Congress-- in which Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi talk about providing justice to the people--their party leaders who are not getting justice. One big leader is deserting the party one after another. Now Milind Deora has also left. There is a long queue of people exiting the Congress due to not getting justice,” said Thakur.

Thakur went on to say that, following the party's crushing defeats in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Rajasthan, even its allies are unwilling to forge an alliance with it. “No one wants to ride on a sinking ship. Congress is not only drowning,” he said.

Former Congress President Rahul Gandhi launched the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra on Sunday from Manipur's Thoubal district, near Imphal.

The BJP's national spokesperson, Shehzad Poonawalla, stated that the Yatra is the 15th attempt to relaunch, reposition, and rebrand Rahul Gandhi.

He stated that because the Congress has lost three states and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee have shown no confidence in Rahul, and the party is gradually losing its place in the INDI (Indian National Developmental Inclusive) Alliance, the programme is undoubtedly a yatra for repositioning the Congress party and relaunching and rebranding Rahul Gandhi.

Poonawalla stated, citing the negative remarks of Samajwadi Party and Janata Dal leaders against the Yatra, “This is a separate issue how much confidence the Yatra will create in the people…I feel that Rahul Gandhi should abandon this Yatra and initiate INDI Jodo Yatra. The leaders of the alliance are hurling abuses at each other. So, Rahul Gandhi should make attempts to bring them together. Whether Janata comes along, it is a different issue.”