Himachal CM Sukhu joins Rahul in Jaipur as Bharat Jodo Yatra completes 100 days
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, his deputy Mukesh Agnihotri and state Congress chief Pratibha Singh joined Rahul Gandhi in the Bharat Jodo Yatra as the ambitious walkathon entered its 100th day on Friday (December 16).
Others to join the yatra in its morning session were newly elected Himachal MLAs, including Pratibha Singh’s son Vikramaditya Singh and AICC in-charge of the hill state Rajeev Shukla.
Rahul, along with Venugopal, former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot and other senior leaders, began the morning leg of the yatra from the Meena High Court in Rajasthan’s Jaipur.
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“Bharat Jodo Yatra’s biggest achievement is that issues of the common people of the country have been highlighted through it,” Venugopal told PTI.
“The BJPs attempt of demolishing his (Rahul’s) image has also been destroyed by us,” he added.
The Congress general secretary (organisation) also stressed that the message of the yatra will be spread through a follow-up campaign to be undertaken by the party from January 26.
The yatra, which was launched on September 7 in Kanyakumari has traversed eight states Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and now, Rajasthan. With over 2,800 kilometres under his belt, Rahul has managed to catch the attention of his supporters as well as detractors.
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Controversies have also been part and parcel of the yatra, with the Congress and the BJP trading barbs on several occasions. The yatra will enter Delhi on December 24, and after a break of about eight days, move on to Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab and finally to Jammu and Kashmir.
The walkathon has seen participation from a cross-section of society, including film and TV celebrities such as Pooja Bhatt, Riya Sen, Sushant Singh, Swara Bhasker, Rashami Desai, Akanksha Puri and Amol Palekar. Besides participation from tinsel town celebrities, writers, military veterans, including former Navy chief admiral L Ramdas, Opposition leaders such as Shiv Sena’s Aaditya Thackeray and the NCP’s Supriya Sule, and former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan, have also joined the march at various points.
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(With inputs from agencies)