The Bharat Jodo Yatra led by former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi will resume its second leg of the journey from the national Capital on Tuesday and has been scheduled to wrap up in Srinagar on January 30.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, BSP supremo Mayawati, both former chief ministers of Uttar Pradesh, expressed their inability to join the padyatra when it crosses the State this week but both the leaders wished Rahul and Congress the best for the yatra.
Congress’ new ally, Nitish Kumar's JD(U) will, however, represent itself through its UP unit while the Bhartiya Kisan Union said they will not participate in the Yatra.
Just like other political leaders all of them were invited by Rahul Gandhi to join the yatra. The BKU however mentioned that their workers are free to participate in the march but office bearers above the rank of district presidents will not take part in it.
The nationwide yatra will enter Uttar Pradesh from the Loni border in Ghaziabad on January 3 afternoon and will halt for the night in Mavikala village in Baghpat. It will pass through Shamli in UP on January 4 and enter Haryana through Sanauli in Panipat on January 5 evening.
The Yatra will continue from Delhi on January 3, walking through Uttar Pradesh from the same day to January 5, Haryana from January 6 to 10, Punjab from January 11 to 20 and spending one day in Himachal Pradesh on January 19. The Yatra will enter Jammu and Kashmir on the evening of January 20 and will end with a flag hoisting on Srinagar on January 30.
Both, Akhilesh and Mayawati, thanked Rahul for inviting him to his 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' and wished it a success, even though they will not be attending it. SP chief spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary said Akhilesh will not participate in the yatra, nor will any other leader from the party.
In a letter addressed to Rahul, Akhilesh thanked for the invitation to the 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' and wished for success of the 'Bharat Jodo' initiative. “India is a feeling which is beyond geographical expansion, where there is love, non-violence, emotions, co-operation and bonhomie -- the positive elements, which unite India. Hope that this yatra achieves its aim of conserving this inclusive culture," Akhilesh said.
Mayawati posted her message on social media, "Best wishes for the "Bharat Jodo Yatra" and thanks to Rahul Gandhi for writing a letter to me to take part in the yatra."
AICC general secretary organisation K C Venugopal and AICC general secretary, communications Jairam Ramesh, said the Bharat Jodo Yatra has so far covered 3,122 km from Gandhi Mandapam in Kanyakumari to the Red Fort in Delhi. Venugopal added that he has already held a meeting with Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on security arrangements in their states and they have assured of their cooperation.
JD(U) spokesman K C Tyagi said the Uttar Pradesh unit president Anoop Singh Patel will participate in the yatra while Nitish Kumar has expressed his support to the idea behind the exercise.
Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) Om Prakash Rajbhar too declined to be part of the yatra even though he claimed that senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid had personally requested him to participate in the Bharat Jodo yatra besides the personal invitation by Rahul Gandhi. Rajbhar though questioned the purpose of the yatra and asked what was the need to integrate India, when it was never disintegrated in the first place.
Over the 108 days, the Yatra has covered 49 districts in nine states and one Union Territory -- Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, and Delhi.