Indian opposition parliamentarian Rahul Gandhi launched the 3,570 km long "Bharat Jodo Yatra" ("Unite India Journey") on Wednesday in Kanyakumari, a coastal town in southern India's Tamil Nadu state.
Prior to Bharat Jodo Yatra, Gandhi, a former Congress president, arrived at the Sriperumbudur memorial near Chennai to pay homage to his father and former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, who was killed in a suicide bombing at the same place in May 1991.
"I lost my father to the politics of hate and division. I will not lose my beloved country to it too. Love will conquer hate. Hope will defeat fear. Together, we will overcome," Rahul Gandhi said on Twitter after visiting his father's memorial.
The journey itself will kick off at 7 a.m. IST on Thursday. On average, a 22-23 km distance will be covered by the participating members daily. Congress members will walk in two batches from 7 a.m. to 6.30 p.m., covering 12 states and two union territories over the next 150 days, concluding in Jammu and Kashmir's Srinagar city.
'Bharat Jodo Yatra' ('Unite India Journey')
Bharat Jodo Yatra Map
© Photo : bharatjodo.com
In August, India's opposition Congress party announced a massive tour, or "mega movement," aimed at raising citizens' awareness and strengthening the party's organization. According to Congress, the tour will provide citizens with an alternative to "politics of fear, bigotry and prejudice and to the economics of livelihood destruction, increasing unemployment and growing inequalities," the Indian Express daily reported.
Many senior Congress members have also said that with the campaign, the party is beginning the preparation for the 2024 general election.
According to Congress, no party members, including Rahul Gandhi, will stay at hotels: all members participating in the journey will spend the nights in containers. A total of 60 such containers have been arranged with all facilities such as beds, toilets, and AC also fitted in some containers.
Meanwhile, taking a potshot at Congress' Bharat Jodo Yatra, senior Bharatiya Janata Party member and Assam state chief Himanta Biswa Sarma said: "India is already united. Congress and Rahul Gandhi should go to Pakistan for 'Bharat Jodo Yatra.'"