The Congress on Tuesday rescheduled its Padayatra programme to October 14 by changing its previous date of October 2 even as its rivals, the BJP and the BJD, are all geared up for their Padayatras on October 2 on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti.
Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president Prasad Harichandan told the media about the new schedule after holding a meeting at the Congress Bhawan here. He also said the party would hold the Padayatra in 10 phases which would continue till April 2016. “We don’t want to indulge in competition with others to hold Padayatra on October 2 only,” said Harichandan in his reply to the media on the rescheduling of the date.
In the first phase, he said, the rally would be held at Angul and Dhenkanal. Then, they would cover all Parliamentary constituencies by sensitising people about the failures of both the Central and State Government, he added.
Even the party would also hold a ‘Bijli Satyagraha’ after Dussehra, Harichandan informed.
When contacted, PCC spokesperson Sulochana Das said the Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC) has a meeting on October 2which couldn’t be changed at the last moment.
Citing another reason for changing the date, Das said the party found that the previously-scheduled date for Ganjam and Gajapati in the second phase falls on festivals between Dussehra and Kumar Purnama. “As most of the people will remain busy in the festivals, we changed the schedule,” she added.
