The Yatra is on rest from 25 December to 2 January. From 3 January, Congress will again resume the Yatra from Delhi.
NEW DELHI: In a press conference on 30 December, Punjab Congress Chief Raja Warring informed that Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra will enter Punjab on 11 January. Raja Warring is personally reviewing the preparation for the Yatra. The Yatra is on rest from 25 December to 2 January. From 3 January, Congress will again resume the Yatra from Delhi and via the national capital, the Yatra will enter western Uttar Pradesh, after spending three days in western UP, Yatra will enter Panipat, Haryana.
According to the state unit chief, Yatra will be in Punjab for eight to nine days before entering Jammu and Kashmir. Recently, a high-level meeting took place at PPCC headquarters in Chandigarh, where party general secretary K.C. Venugopal and Secretary in charge for Punjab Harish Chaudhary were present to discuss the Yatra with the Punjab leadership of Congress.
Punjab Congress chief is personally going on the ground to take stock of the Yatra preparations. Raja Warring has visited Rajpura, Ghanaur and Patiala, this week to discuss Yatra with local workers. A meeting was also held on Saturday at the PPCC office, where all senior leaders of the Punjab Congress were present. In PC, Punjab Congress chief alleged that there were security issues, while Yatra was in the national capital. The party’s high command has asked the Union Home Ministry to make foolproof security arrangements for the Yatra in Punjab.
Recently, Congress General Secretary, K.C. Venugopal wrote a letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah claiming security concerns regarding the Bharat Jodo Yatra as it would enter Punjab and the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir in January. After this, Punjab DGP assured that the Congress’s yatra will receive foolproof security in the state.
The banned pro-Khalistan terror group Sikh for Justice had recently threatened to stop Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra. SFJ’s Gurpatwant Singh Pannu released a video calling upon the Sikhs of Punjab to stop Rahul Gandhi’s visit. “The party leadership is discussing other modules of the yatra. The route will cover Shambhu till Jalandhar, Adampur, Mukerian, Pathankot, and Madhopur. Then it will move on to Kashmir,” informed Raja Warring. The Yatra, which started on 7 September, from Kanyakumari reached the national capital last week.
The Yatra has entered its 108th day and it has passed 9 states and 46 districts so far. The party is in hopes that the Yatra will re-energize the Congress cadre, which is in a lull after the rout in the 2022 Assembly elections.