Mission remains to ensure voice of love heard in country: Rahul Gandhi

On the second anniversary of the launch of the Bharat Jodo Yatra, leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Saturday, 7 September, said the yatra proved that Indians were inherently loving people and "today our mission remains to ensure that the voice of love is heard in every corner of the country".

"The Bharat Jodo Yatra taught me the beauty of silence. In the midst of cheering crowds and slogans, I discovered the power to tune out the noise and focus entirely on the person next to me -- to truly listen," Rahul Gandhi said in a post on X.

"In those 145 days, and the two years since, I've listened to thousands of Indians from diverse backgrounds. Each voice has carried wisdom, teaching me something new, and each has represented our beloved Bharat Mata," the former Congress chief said.

The yatra proved that Indians are inherently loving people, he said.

"When I started this journey I said love will conquer hate and hope will defeat fear, today our mission remains the same -- to ensure the voice of Bharat Mata, the voice of love is heard in every corner of our beloved country," Gandhi said, using the hashtag 'Bharat judne tak'.

Gandhi launched the yatra from Kanyakumari on 7 September 2022. It culminated on 30 January 2023, as he capped the ambitious 145-day journey in Srinagar.

During the course of the march, Gandhi addressed 12 public meetings, more than 100 street corner meetings and 13 press conferences. He had over 275 planned walking interactions and more than 100 sitting interactions.

With more than 4,000 kilometres under his belt, Gandhi managed to catch the attention of his supporters as well as detractors. The march witnessed participation from a cross-section of society, including film and TV celebrities such as Kamal Haasan, Pooja Bhatt, Riya Sen, Swara Bhasker, Rashami Desai, Akanksha Puri and Amol Palekar.

Besides, writers and military veterans, including former army chief general (retd) Deepak Kapoor and ex-Navy chief admiral (retd) L. Ramdas, and noted people such as former Reserve Bank of India governor Raghuram Rajan and ex-finance secretary Arvind Mayaram also participated in the yatra.

Opposition leaders such as the National Conference's Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah, People's Democratic Party's Mehbooba Mufti, Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders Aaditya Thackeray, Priyanka Chaturvedi and Sanjay Raut, and Nationalist Congress Party (SP) leader Supriya Sule also walked alongside Gandhi at various points during the march.