Mallikarjun Khrage, President of Congress, has invited the heads of 21 politically aligned groups to attend the final ceremony of the Bharat Jodo Yatra in Srinagar on January 30. Kharge believed their attendance would strengthen the yatra’s message of “truth, compassion, and non-violence”.
Sources indicate that the list does not contain the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) headed by Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao (also known as KCR), and Ghulam Nabi Azad’s Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP).
Days after Rahul Gandhi extended an invitation to Opposition parties to join him in presenting an “alternative vision” to the BJP in Uttar Pradesh, he wrote personal letters to several prominent personalities in the state, including politicians, asking them to join him.
Invitations have been dispatched to the heads of several major Indian political parties, including Trinamool Congress (TMC)’s Mamata Banerjee, Janata Dal (United)’s Nitish Kumar, DMK’s M K Stalin, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)’s Tejashwi Yadav, Shiv Sena’s Uddhav Thackeray, Telugu Desam Party (TDP)’s N Chandrababu Naidu, Samajwadi Party’s (SP) Akhilesh Yadav, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)’s Mayawati, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM)’s Hemant Soren, and Left leaders Sitaram Yechury and D Raja, all of whom are current Chief Ministers or Deputy Chief Ministers in their respective states.
The leaders of the National Conference (NC) – Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah – have been invited, as well as the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti, RJD leader Sharad Yadav, the Hindustani Awam Morcha, the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK), the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), and the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP).
Some opposition leaders joined the Yatra at Gandhi’s invitation as it passed through their state, while others opted not to. On an opening day in Kanyakumari, Stalin was present and handed over the Tricolour to Gandhi. Maharashtra saw Shiv Sena’s Aaditya Thackeray and NCP MP Supriya Sule taking part in the event, while Farooq Abdullah and Kamal Haasan walked with Gandhi in Delhi. Though not joining the yatra, Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati praised Gandhi and wished for its success.
“From the beginning of the Yatra, we have invited the participation of every like-minded Indian. At the invitation of Rahul Gandhi, MPs of several political parties have also walked in the Yatra at different stages. I now invite you to personally join the concluding function of the Bharat Jodo Yatra to be held in Srinagar on January 30th at noon. The function is dedicated to the memory of Mahatma Gandhi, who lost his life on this day in his tireless struggle against the ideology of hatred and violence,” Kharge wrote in the invitation letter.
The Congress president said the Yatra had a straightforward and enduring message of harmony and equality. “Indians have fought for these values over the centuries, and they are enshrined in our Constitution. Yatris walk 20-25 km daily through the heat, cold, and rain. They have carried the Yatra’s message to tens of lakhs of people,” Kharge said.
Kharge said that at the concluding event, “we will commit ourselves to fighting hatred and violence, to spread the message of truth, compassion and non-violence, and to defend the Constitutional values of liberty, equality, fraternity and justice for all”.
He added, “At this time of crisis for our country, where public attention is systematically diverted from people’s issues, the Yatra has emerged as a powerful voice. I hope you will participate and further strengthen its message.”
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