The Congress is all set to launch its 3,570-km 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' on Wednesday at a mega rally in Kanyakumari with former Congress president Rahul Gandhi to take part in a prayer meeting at former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi's memorial in Sriperumbudur.
It will be followed by an event where DMK leader and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel will be present where Rahul will be handed over a Khadi national flag.
Stalin is in a coalition Government with Congress and the grand old party has invited all the like minded parties to join the Yatra which seeks to highlight the plights of economic disparities, social polarisation and political centralization amidst host of issues concerning the general citizens.
Before the launch of the yatra, Rahul will also visit the Vivekananda Rock Memorial, Thiruvalluvar Statue and Kamaraj Memorial in Kanyakumari. Though the 3,570-km yatra from Kanyakumari to Srinagar, covering 12 states and two Union Territories in about five months, will be formally launched at the rally, it will actually begin at 7 AM on September 8 when Rahul and several other Congress leaders will embark on the march.
Ahead of the Yatra, Rahul has said that with all paths allegedly blocked by the government, the Congress now has to go to the people and tell them the truth, and that is why the party is undertaking the 'Bharat Jodo Yatra'.
The 'padyatra' will move in two batches, one from 7-10:30 am and the other from 3:30 pm to 6:30 pm. While the morning session will include a lesser number of participants, the evening session will see mass mobilisation. On an average, the 'padyatris' plan to walk around 22-23 km daily. Congress has asserted that its Yatra from Kashmir to Kanyakumari is not a 'Mann Ki Baat' in any manner, but its objective is to ensure that the concerns and demands of the people reach Delhi.
The party has classified 119 leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, as 'Bharat Yatris' who will walk through the entire distance from Kanyakumari to Srinagar. The 'padayatra' will reach Kerala on September 11 and will traverse through the State for the next 18 days.