KASHMIR: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi Monday unfurled the national flag at the yatra’s campsite at Cheshma Sahi in Srinagar concluding the 135 days long footmarch. He ended his over 4,000 km padyatra on Sunday, covering 12 states over a span of five months.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, meanwhile, also unfurled the Tricolour at the party headquarters in Srinagar, where a Bharat Jodo Yatra memorial has also been put up. The Yatra finale is set for a show of Opposition unity, with the party having extended invitations to 21 political parties for its rally at the Sher-e-Kashmir stadium.
However, the snowfall has forced the closure of the Srinagar-Jammu national highway, and may disrupt air traffic as well. Many opposition leaders who were expected to arrive for the finale of the yatra, led by Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, might not be able to make it.
Addressing a press conference, Gandhi on Sunday said, “Bharat Jodo Yatra was from South to North but had national effect… There are two roads before India… two ways of life. One is the vision of oppression and the second is the vision to unite all,” he said. “This yatra has not ended… This is the first step, the beginning,” Rahul added. Accompanied by his sister Priyanka Gandhi, Rahul hoisted the Tricolour at Lal Chowk.
The 12 parties confirmed to attend are — MK Stalin-led Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Sharad Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Tejashwi Yadav-led Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United), Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena, CPI(M), CPI, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), Kerala Congress, Farooq Abdullah-led Jammu & Kashmir National Conference, Mehbooba Mufti’s Jammu and Kashmir People’s Democratic Party (PDP), and Shibu Soren’s Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM).