The Chhattisgarh unit of the Congress party will launch a ‘Kalash Yatra’ in all the 90 Assembly constituencies of the State in the memory of party leaders and others killed in the Maoist attack at Jeeram ghati in Bastar region on May 25, State Congress Working President Dr Charandas Mahant told reporters here on Monday.
The ‘Kalash Yatra’ would comprise a vehicle carrying photographs of the party leaders and the security personnel killed in the attack.
The ‘Yatra’ would pass through a holy place of the home districts of four key Congress leaders killed in the attack mainly — Vidya Charan Shukla, Nand Kumar Patel, Mahendra Karma and Uday Mudliyar before embarking on its journey of the 90 Assembly constituencies in the State,
he said.
Mahant said that the ‘Kalash Yatra’ would be participated by the family members of all those who were martyred in the attack besides party workers and the office bearers. ‘This ‘Yatra’ would be apolitical and would pay homage to those killed in the attack’.
Similarly, the party has decided to resume its ‘Parivartan Yatra’ from Keslur which was called off following the massacre of State-level leaders at Jeeram ghati, the date of the Parivartan Yatra is yet to be decided ,he said.
Moreover, a divisional level condolence meeting had been organised at Jagdalpur on June 25 to pay homage to those killed in the attack, Mahant said.
‘The ‘Parivartan Yatra’ would move forward with the help of the general public and the farmers. ‘The ‘Parivartan Yatra’ had a separate agenda to expose corruption and those relating to the problems of the general public and the farmers’, he said. On June 24, being the day for conducting the 13th day ritual for late veteran Congress leader Vidya Charan Shukla, no party programme would be held on that day, the State Congress Working President said.
To a question on different Congress leaders issuing statements Mahant stated that now only an authorised person would be allowed to speak on behalf of the party.
‘The party will not tolerate elements who try to generate factionalism’, he said.
Mahant alleged that the Darbha attack was a conspiracy to eliminate the line of Congress leaders. The NIA has already started probing the episode and a judicial inquiry had also been instituted, he said.
Earlier in the day, the State Congress Working President had held two meetings with the Congress leader of Opposition in the State Assembly Ravindra Choubey and the district level party leaders.