Bharat Jodo Yatra was not organised to promote Rahul Gandhi as the Prime Minister: Jairam Ramesh.
Saturday, Congress politician Jairam Ramesh stated that the Bharat Jodo Yatra was not organised to promote Rahul Gandhi as the party’s candidate for prime minister in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, claiming that the foot march has nothing to do with elections.
The former Union minister also stated that Gandhi’s yatra was successful in addressing three major issues: economic inequality, social divisiveness, and political tyranny. In response to a question from a reporter, the Congress national secretary in charge of communications stated, “The Bharat Jodo Yatra was not organised to promote Rahul Gandhi as a prime ministerial contender. It is an ideological journey, and Gandhi is its primary representative.
However, this is not a personal yatra.” The Kanyakumari-to-Kashmir foot march that is currently moving through Haryana, according to him, is not a “election yatra.”
Ramesh argued that it is inappropriate to inquire whether the opposition party will present Gandhi as its candidate for prime minister in the 2024 general election.
“No, No, No…. In response to the reporter’s inquiry, he stated, “No, this is not an election campaign tour.”
LIVE: Press briefing by Shri @Jairam_Ramesh, Shri @shaktisinhgohil, Shri @BhupinderShooda and Shri @INCUdaiBhan in Haryana. #BharatJodoYatra https://t.co/idQZlfnDcx
— Congress (@INCIndia) January 7, 2023
There are two hundred Bharat yatris. It is the yatra of the Congress party. The party staff is participating. Clearly, the nation’s focus is on Rahul Gandhi, since he is the yatra’s most prominent, visible, and vibrant face. “However, this is not intended for a single man, nor does it portray him as a potential prime ministerial contender,” he stated.
Ramesh, accompanied by former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, stated that the purpose of the yatra is to “ideologically oppose the RSS and the BJP.”
“During the Bharat Jodo Yatra, Rahul Gandhi emphasised three major issues: economic injustice, social divisiveness, and political tyranny. He raises these concerns daily in his walking and talking interactions, in his corner speeches, and in his rallies.
“Therefore, I believe it is dishonest of you to ask, ‘Are we promoting him as a prime ministerial face?’ We do not. This is not a campaign tour,” he stated.
Ramesh stated that the purpose of the march is to strengthen the ideology and party organisation of the Congress and to awaken the country’s conscience to the “disaster” and “damage” caused by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s personality, mode of operation, policies, politics of harassment, and politics of vendetta.
“You should not trivialise the Bharat Jodo Yatra, in my opinion. “The yatra is acting on a much greater level than people or elections,” he stated.
Saturday morning, the march resumed from Karnal, with hundreds of people accompanying Gandhi on his trek. The yatra visited the Karnal region on Friday from neighbouring Panipat, where Gandhi spoke at a public gathering. Thursday evening, the yatra re-entered Haryana from Uttar Pradesh. After a night’s rest, it began on Friday from Panipat’s Kurar.
The first section of the march travelled more than 130 kilometres across Haryana from December 21 to 23, traversing through the districts of Nuh, Gurugram, and Faridabad. The yatra, which began on September 7 in Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu, will conclude on January 30 in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, with Gandhi raising the national flag.
The march has thus far traversed the states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, three Haryana districts (in the initial phase), Delhi, and Uttar Pradesh.
