The Congress on Saturday dismissed the claims that the absence of some opposition parties during the Bharat Jodo Yatra’s upcoming culmination rally in Srinagar on Monday could be considered a ‘setback’ for the party, and reiterated that ‘no opposition alliance would be relevant or meaningful without the Congress’.
Congress general secretary in charge of communications, Jairam Ramesh said, “I don’t see the absence of anybody who has been invited to be a setback because they may have other preoccupations. I have personally spoken to JD (U) leader Rajiv Ranjan who is on his election campaign in Nagaland. H.D Deve Gowda too while informing his inability to attend the yatra had written to Rahul Gandhi and shown full support for the yatra. The function on the 30th is not a coalition-building exercise and is rather an invitation extended in good faith to like-minded political parties who, we believe, oppose the policies and the programs of the BJP.”
Ramesh was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the yatra, which reached on the outskirts of Jammu and Kashmir’s Srinagar on Saturday.
“Any opposition platform to defeat the BJP must be based on two realities – i.e Congress must be a pivot or the fulcrum of any opposition alliance and without the Congress, no opposition alliance is relevant or meaningful. Secondly, any opposition alliance must be based on a constructive agenda and not just carry a negative mindset of being anti-BJP, anti-government/regime. It has to be based on a constructive and positive agenda,” he added.
The Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra is on its penultimate day in J&K and it resumed from Awantipora on Saturday, where PDP president Mehbooba Mufti and her daughter Iltija Mufti had joined the march. Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi too was seen with Rahul at Lethpora, J&K. Rahul Gandhi also paid floral tribute to the Pulwama martyrs when the yatra reached the 2019 car bomb blast site.
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The BJY is scheduled to halt at Pantha Chowk in the outskirts of Srinagar on Saturday night and will resume on Sunday from there for its final day which will culminate near Nehru Park.
The Bharat Jodo Yatra will have covered 4,080 km when it culminates on January 29 and it has taken almost 136 days to cover the distance from Kanyakumari. Out of the 136 days, the yatris have walked 116 days and on an average, they walked 23-24 km per day, as per information provided by their party members.
On Sunday, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will be addressing the final press conference of the Bharat Jodo Yatra at 3pm and there will be a flag-hoisting ceremony on January 30 at the Congress headquarters in Srinagar. Post that opposition leaders who were invited by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge will attend a mega public rally at SK Stadium, Srinagar.