IMPHAL, 13 Jan: A day before the start of the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra (BJNY) from Manipur, the Congress on Saturday said that it is an ideological yatra and not an electoral one, and asserted that it is being taken out against the “anyay kaal” of 10 years of the Narendra Modi government.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said that the biggest challenge before the country is that it is facing an ideology which believes in polarisation, economic inequalities and political authoritarianism.
“The prime minister shows golden dreams of ‘amrit kaal’ but what is the reality of the last 10 years ‘anyay kaal’. No mention of ‘anyay kaal’ is made while big boasts of ‘amrit kaal’ are projected,” Ramesh said, addressing a press conference here along with former Manipur chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh, state party chief Keisham Meghachandra Singh and Congress Working Committee member Gaikhangam.
“The yatra is being taken out keeping in mind political, economic and social injustices committed in the last 10 years,” Ramesh said.
“This is a yatra by a political party. It is an ideological yatra and not an electoral one,” Ramesh stressed.
The BJNY will pass through 100 Lok Sabha constituencies in 15 states, and the party believes that it will prove to be as “transformative” as Rahul Gandhi’s earlier cross-country march.
The Congress has said that it is taking out the yatra as the government did not give it a chance to raise people’s issues in Parliament, and that the initiative is aimed at reestablishing the principles of justice, liberty, equality and fraternity enshrined in the Constitution.
The yatra will be flagged off from a private ground in Manipur’s Thoubal district, instead of Imphal, the party’s initial choice.
The state government had given the Congress conditional approval to flag off the yatra from the palace grounds here, restricting the number of people. Therefore, the Congress decided to opt for another venue.
The BJNY will traverse 6,713 kms, mostly in buses, but also on foot. The yatra will cover 110 districts, 100 Lok Sabha seats and 337 assembly segments in 67 days, before culminating in Mumbai on 20 or 21 March. (PTI)