KOHIMA, 9 Jan: Rahul Gandhi will arrive in Nagaland on 15 January evening and travel through at least four districts of the state as part of his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra (BJNY), AICC general secretary KC Venugopal said here on Tuesday.
He will reach Nagaland a day after the launch of the yatra in Manipur on 14 January, and go to Assam on 18 January, he told reporters here.
Gandhi will spend the night in Khuzama village, which is on the border with Manipur, after entering Nagaland and hold a rally in the heart of Kohima the next day. He will later go to Kohima, Wokha, Zunheboto and Mokukchung districts for the yatra, Venugopal, who is here along with other AICC leaders for a preparatory meeting, said.
“The Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, which will cover 6,500 kms from Imphal to Mumbai, has nothing to do with politics. It does not have any connection with the parliamentary election due this year. Its objective is to seek justice for the youths, women, the poor and the farmers and highlight peoples’ sentiments, their issues through a bigger platform,” he said.
Venugopal blamed the BJP-led government at the Centre for not paying attention to fulfill the aspirations of the youths of the country. “The women are faced with continuous harassment in every sphere of life. At the same time the gap between the rich and the poor is widening every day as the entire government is concentrating on making one or two people extra rich by totally neglecting the poor people of the country.
“The BJP-led government has even diluted the MGNREGA, which was meant for the uplift of the poor in rural areas,” he said.
The Congress is taking up the issues of the common people in the yatra, he said, and asked all likeminded people, intellectuals and civil society groups to join it.
For Nagaland, the BJNY will be “historic” as it will give the state Congress the opportunity to re-strengthen and rebuild itself from the grassroots level, he said.
NPCC president S Supongmeren Jamir and former president K Therie were present at the meeting. (PTI)