NEW DELHI, 28 Dec: The Congress on Wednesday announced that it will hold a ‘Bharat Nyay Yatra’, led by Rahul Gandhi, from Manipur to Mumbai, passing through 14 states and 85 districts from the east to the west of India in 67 days, beginning 14 January – an exercise seen as the party’s attempt to rally support ahead of the crucial 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The march, which will cover around 6,200 kms – mostly on buses with stretches of walking – and culminate on 20 March, comes nearly a year after former Congress president Rahul Gandhi completed the Bharat Jodo Yatra on foot from Kanyakumari to Kashmir, traversing over 4,000 kms in 136 days.
While Gandhi raised the issues of “economic disparities, polarisation and dictatorship” during the Bharat Jodo Yatra, the Nyay Yatra will focus on social, economic and political justice for the people of the country, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said at a press conference.
The march will be flagged off by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge from Imphal on 14 January, and will pass through Nagaland, Assam, Meghalaya, West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra, Ramesh said.
The march is being seen as politically significant in the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, which are likely to be held in April-May. The announcement of the polls may coincide with the last leg of the yatra.
The Bharat Jodo Yatra, which had started on 7 September, 2022 and ended in January 2023, was credited by the Congress for its electoral gains in assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka and Telangana, claiming that it had enthused its ranks and file and revitalised the party’s connect with the masses.
“After the Bharat Jodo Yatra, the Congress will take out a Bharat Nyay Yatra under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi,” Ramesh said.
He said also that the Congress will hold a “mega rally” in Nagpur on 28 December on the occasion of the party’s foundation day. The rally, themed ‘Hain Tayyar Hum’ (We Are Ready), will sound the bugle for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections for the Congress.
Congress general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal said that interactions will be held with women, youths and marginalised communities during the Nyay Yatra.
It will cover more distance than the Bharat Jodo Yatra in less time as the majority of the Nyay Yatra will be by bus, along with short stretches of walking.
The march was announced following a unanimous resolution of the Congress Working Committee on 21 December that Gandhi should undertake the second phase of the yatra from the east to the west of India.
Asked about the rationale behind choosing Manipur as the starting point of the march, Venugopal said that it is an important part of the country and also that the party wants to begin the process of “healing the wounds” of the people of the northeastern state.
Manipur witnessed one of the worst ethnic conflicts between the Kuki and Meitei communities, resulting in more than 200 deaths and leaving nearly 60,000 people homeless since violence broke out in the state on 3 May.
“After spreading the message of unity, love and harmony through Bharat Jodo Yatra, Gandhi will seek justice for the people of the country,” Ramesh said.
In a post on X, Ramesh said that, while the Bharat Jodo Yatra was anchored in the Constitution’s Preamble’s pillars of “liberty, equality and fraternity,” the Bharat Nyay Yatra is anchored in the Preamble’s very first pillar of justice – social, economic and political.
“The repeated assaults on the Constitution will not be allowed to succeed!” he said.
To a question whether the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) parties will also participate in the march, Venugopal said that the final details are being worked out.
Ramesh pointed out that leaders of various political parties had also participated in the Bharat Jodo Yatra, which covered 75 districts and 76 Lok Sabha constituencies across 12 states and two union territories. (PTI)