Rahul’s ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’ to commence on Jan 14 from Manipur

Imphal: The Congress declared on Saturday that its 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra,' which would leave Manipur on Sunday under Rahul Gandhi's leadership, is a political rally with no connection to elections.

Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra is the second phase of the Bharat Jodo Yatra, according to Congress leader Jairam Ramesh who was speaking to journalists in Manipur's capital Imphal. The yatra will be launched by a number of Congress leaders, including the chief ministers of all Congress-ruled states.

“This is an ideological yatra, not an electoral yatra. This is a political rally, being taken out by a political party with a political purpose. Our political purpose is to protect the Constitution, the preamble of the Constitution, the principles – justice, liberty, equality and fraternity,” Ramesh said, the New Indian Express reported.

He stated that the choice of Manipur as the yatra's starting place was deliberate. He stated that the Congress studied different options before deciding to begin with Manipur “as a reflection of our concern for what has happened here and also to highlight that the Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) has not met any political leader of Manipur in the last eight months.”

Ramesh claimed that ethnic violence in Manipur caused misery and agony. He said that "lakhs" of people had been displaced, hundreds had been killed and the state's social harmony had been disrupted.

On Sunday, a chartered flight carrying Gandhi and AICC leaders would arrive in Imphal shortly after 11 a.m. The Congress leaders would immediately proceed to the Khongjom War Memorial in Thoubal district, Imphal valley, before launching the yatra from private land.

Ramesh stated that the yatra would be eight to ten kilometres long on Sunday, with Gandhi arriving in Nagaland the next day. In response to a question, he stated that the Congress leader would not visit the Kuki-majority Churachandpur. Kangpokpi, a Kuki-majority district, is on the way to Nagaland. The road to Nagaland passes through Kangpokpi, a Kuki-majority district.

“During the course of two months, Rahul Gandhi will be interacting with civil society groups and addressing public meetings every day. He will put forward to the country a positive agenda on nyay,” he said.

He explained that the agenda would focus on economic justice, which addresses issues such as price increases, unemployment, and economic inequality, as well as social justice, which addresses issues such as social empowerment of Dalits, Adivasis, OBCs, women, and minorities, as well as how to strengthen democracy and democratic institutions.

“This is an ideological battle that the Congress has mounted. Bharat Jodo Yatra was an ideological yatra. Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra is an equally ideological yatra but it is a yatra of a political party,” Ramesh said.

Concerning Gandhi's security, he stated that there are two to three officials in the Congress leader's team who are in contact with the Manipur government.

Gandhi will travel 6,200 kilometres during his 66-day yatra, which will end in Mumbai. It will move across Manipur, Nagaland, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, and Meghalaya over the following 10-11 days.