Congress’s Bharat Jodo Yatra, led by Rahul Gandhi, entered Madhya Pradesh from Boderli village situated on the Maharashtra border. The yatra flag was handed over by Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole to Madhya Pradesh counterpart Kamal Nath in the presence of Rahul Gandhi.
The Leader of the Opposition in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly, Govind Singh, was also seen holding the flag on the occasion.
Speaking at the occasion, Gandhi said, “This yatra is against hatred, violence and fear being spread in the country. We have started the Bharat Jodo Yatra by taking the tricolour in our hands from Kanyakumari. Nobody can stop this tricolour from reaching Srinagar.”
The yatra commenced from the Boderli bus stand at St Xavier International School Jainabad Fata in Burhanpur district and will go through seven districts of Madhya Pradesh over the next 11 days.
Congress communications in-charge Jairam Ramesh said that Burhanpur has a “long history and became an important place during Mughal rule especially during Shah Jahan’s reign.”
“One-sixth of Burhanpur district’s cultivated area is covered with bananas and it’s also one of the centres of the powerloom industry. @RahulGandhi will be interacting with banana growers and powerloom workers today afternoon,” he said in a tweet.
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and her family members are expected to reach Burhanpur in the evening to join her brother on the yatra. She will participate in the yatra between Burhanpur and Indore on November 24 and 25, Kamal Nath said. This is the first time Priyanka Gandhi will be participating in the Congress’s mass outreach programme, set out for Kashmir from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu.
The yatra has traversed through Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Maharashtra so far.
On Tuesday, a right-wing outfit put up posters in Burhanpur city criticising Gandhi’s remarks on freedom fighter V D Savarkar and staged a protest. The posters put up by Hindu Jagran Manch (HJM) also demanded action against the former Congress chief for “inciting public sentiments”.
Gandhi had shown some old documents during a press conference in the Akola district of Maharashtra claiming they contained a letter written by Savarkar to the British. “I will read the last line, which says ‘I beg to remain your most obedient servant’ and is signed by V D Savarkar, which shows he helped the British,” he had said.
