Congress to launch Kanyakumari to Kashmir 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' on September 7

Jairam Ramesh draws parallels between ‘Bharat Chhodo’ (Quit India) movement and ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’

The Congress will launch a ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ from Kanyakumari to Kashmir on September 7, party’s communication chief Jairam Ramesh said on Tuesday. Congress workers and leaders including former president Rahul Gandhi will participate in the yatra, he said in a statement.

Announcing the padayatra (foot march) which will cover 12 States and two Union Territories, Mr. Ramesh said, “On this day 80 years ago the Indian National Congress under the leadership and inspiration of Mahatma Gandhi launched the ‘Bharat Chhodo’ movement that won our country freedom five years later.”

“Today the Indian National Congress announces the launch of its Kanyakumari to Kashmir Bharat Jodo Yatra from September 7th, 2022,” he added. The march will be about 3,500 kilometres long and take 150 days to complete.

“The Congress appeals to all wanting to be part of an gigantic national endeavour to provide an alternative to the politics of fear, bigotry and prejudice and to the economics of livelihood destruction, increasing unemployment and growing inequalities, to participate in the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’, the statement read.

In a tweet, Mr. Ramesh attacked the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), asking questions about the role it played when Mahatma Gandhi launched the Quit India movement.

"It was on the sidelines dissociating itself from the mass movement. Shyama Prasad Mookherjee took no part while Gandhi, Nehru, Patel, Azad, Prasad, Pant and many others were jailed," he said.

(With inputs from PTI)