Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra to reach Nagaland on 15 Jan, take people's concerns national

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi will arrive in Nagaland on the evening of 15 January and travel through at least four districts of the state as part of his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, AICC general secretary K.C. Venugopal said in Kohima today, 9 January.

The Congress leader and his companions on the yatra will cross into Nagaland on the second day, after commencing in Manipur on 14 January. They will go on to Assam on 18 January, Venugopal told reporters in Kohima.

Gandhi will spend the night in Khuzama village, which is on the border with Manipur, after entering Nagaland and will hold a rally in the heart of Kohima the next day. He will traverse the Kohima, Wokha, Zunheboto and Mokukchung districts on his way to Assam.

Venugopal, who is here along with other All-India Congress Committee leaders for a preparatory meeting, underscored that the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra—which will cover a route of 6,500 km from Imphal to Mumbai—is not a political rally to campaign for the parliamentary elections later this year.

"Its objective is to seek justice for the youth, women, the poor and the farmers and highlight peoples' sentiments, their issues through a bigger platform," he said.

Venugopal criticised the BJP-led government at the Centre for not paying attention to fulfilling the aspirations of the youth of the country:

"The women are faced with continuous harassment in every sphere of life.

"At the same time, the gap between the rich and the poor is widening every day as the entire government is concentrating on making one or two people extra rich by totally neglecting the poor people of the country.

"The BJP-led government has even diluted the MGNREGA, which was meant for the upliftment of the poor in rural areas," he said.

The Congress will take up the issues of the common people in the Yatra, he said, and asked all like-minded people, intellectuals and civil society organisations to join it.

For Nagaland, Venugopal promised, the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra would be a "historic" event, and a time for the state Congress to renew its connection with the people right from the grassroots level and take their concerns to a national forum.

Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee (NPCC) president S. Supongmeren Jamir and former president K. Therie were also present at the press meet.

Based on PTI inputs