UP Congress chief Raj Babbar has drawn up a plan to boost the morale of party workers and capitalise on the farmers unrest across the country.
Babbar is expected to kick off a campaign from Thursday to pressure the state government to look into farmers' issues and redress them at the earliest and also highlight the failure of Yogi Adityanath government on the completion of it’s 100 days in office.
The Padyatra will cover all 75 districts of the state. In the first phase, Babbar would personally visit 17 districts to highlight the plight of farmers, youth and unkept promises of the BJP government.
Congress sources said that Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi might join the Yatra in the later phases as he is currently abroad.
The state Congress chief would launch the campaign with the slogan of 'Haq mango abhiyan - Na karz mafi, na rojgar ka mauka, prachand bahumat, phir bhi prachand dhoka' (no loan waiver, no jobs; a massive betrayal after a massive mandate) from Aligarh on June 15 where he will hold a chaupal to address farmers and other issues.
The party will hold similar chaupals and panchayats in rural areas in Agra on June 16, in Gautam Buddha Nagar on June 17, in lucknow on June 19, Unnao on June 20 and Barabanki on June 21.
UP Congress spokesperson Sanjay Bajpai said in lucknow on Wednesday that during chaupals and panchayats, party leaders led by Raj Babbar will raise issues related to farmers and youths, with focus on loan waiver and jobs.
"Farmers and youths in the state have been taken for a ride by the present BJP government. In the three months of its regime, Yogi government has failed to deliver," Bajpai said.
The exercise to highlight issues related to farmers and youths was taken by UP Congress at the behest of party honcho Rahul Gandhi.
"The Congress vice president has always been at the forefront in highlighting farmers' problems. He had attempted to go to Mandsaur to express solidarity with agitating farmers but was stoppd midway. Farmers are on warpath not only in Madhya Pradesh but also in Baghpat (western UP), Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh. We are a national party and it is our duty to stand by them in their struggle for their rights," said Bajpai.