Congress inspired by BJP’s Ekta Yatra

The fundamental mistake the Congress appears to have made while launching its ambitious 3,500-kilometre long, Bharat Jodo Yatra, is its description and nomenclature. A party that historically united more than 600 Riyasats of the country after Independence, to make it into a strong and united India is undoing its own efforts.
Yes, there are allegations in public domain that the BJP and the Sangh Parivar have been pursuing a divisive agenda that is creating differences between various communities. However, no one can claim that the country was disintegrating geographically that such a journey had to be undertaken. There has been no demand from any region to delink it with the rest of the nation, so the Bharat Jodo slogan appears to be a bit ambiguous.
As a political exercise aimed at reviving the party, the effort is worth making, but if that was the case, the Congress should have invoked the name of Indira Gandhi while deciding on the nomenclature. Till this day, Indira Gandhi remains the most charismatic leader with unparalleled mass appeal and the Congress should have perhaps attached her name to this programme.
It is a matter of record that even after 38 years of her assassination, maximum people who visit the capital from various parts as tourists make it a point to pay homage to her at the 1, Safdarjung Road-1, Akbar Road Memorial. Rahul Gandhi would have done well that before going to Sriperumbudur en route to Kanyakumari to pay a tribute to his late father, Rajiv Gandhi, he should have also visited his grandmother’s memorial.
The Congress appears to have forgotten that the largest surrender of a hostile Army took place when Indira Gandhi carved out Bangladesh and the 93,000 Pakistani soldiers who were made prisoners of war, remained in the custody of India that provided for their food, clothing and other needs. It was a big statement of nationalism which could have been used to counter the BJP’s commitment to nationalism.
The Bharat Jodo Yatra may keep the Congress in news for 150 days, but its impact could also get lost if the party were to come third in a state like Gujarat. It is also evident that Rahul Gandhi would not be contesting the party polls and is wishing to emerge as a Super Leader, whose writ may run through his chosen proxies.
There have been comparisons that are being drawn in political circles between the Congress exercise and the one undertaken by the BJP in December, 1991 during the presidentship of Dr Murli Manohar Joshi, who was accompanied throughout his journey from Kanyakumari to Srinagar by the current Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, then a BJP activist.
Unlike the Somnath to Ayodhya Rath Yatra, a brainchild of Lal Krishna Advani, to offset the impact of the Mandalisation of Indian politics by Vishwanath Pratap Singh, the Ekta Yatra had the complete backing of the RSS and aimed at reinforcing national integration by uniting various sections.
Having closely covered the Ekta Yatra for the Hindu from its starting point at Kanyakumari where top BJP leaders including Atal Behari Vajpayee and Vijay Raje Scindia were present, besides the families of martyrs such as Havaldar Abdul Hamid, recipient of Param Vir Chakra in the 1965 war, the Congress Yatra needs to bring in more purpose in its final objective.
During the final leg of the Ekta Yatra, the P.V. Narasimha Rao government at the Centre, had no intentions of allowing Dr Joshi, Modi and the rest of the entourage of get into Srinagar. The motorcade of hundreds of vehicles was stopped at Patnitop beyond Jammu on 25 January 1992 and Dr Joshi was clearly informed that there was no way he would be permitted to hoist the National flag at Lal Chowk.
Kashmir was witnessing a lot of targeted killings of Kashmiri Pandits and the situation in the Valley was explosive. The Indian Army, which was overseeing the operations there, was not in agreement with the decision of the Centre. In Fact, both Dr Joshi and Prime Minister Modi were flown to Srinagar in military aircraft and it was because of the intervention of the Indian Army that the Centre changed its decision and allowed them to unfurl the Tiranga at the Lal Chowk on the Republic Day.
Several senior officials of the military thanked Dr Joshi and said that if they had not done what they did, it would have been extremely difficult to hold on to the Valley.
Thus, the purpose of the Ekta Yatra was fully realised. The question that needs to be asked at this juncture is whether the Bharat Jodo Yatra would achieve its objectives. The Congress is losing control in a majority of the states and its organisational structure is in extremely poor state. It does not seem to understand that in order to face PM Modi, the Congress needs to also strengthen itself to battle the BJP’s formidable organisation.
The Ekta Yatra was sanctioned by the RSS when the BJP’s fortunes were brightening up nationally. It helped the Sangh Parivar to consolidate its position, though from within, there was an attempt by some senior leaders of that time to ensure that Dr Joshi’s mission was sabotaged.
Rahul is obviously going to remain busy with his political exercise but he should be aware that other Opposition leaders have also thrown their hat in the ring to challenge the Prime Minister in 2024. Nitish Kumar is emerging as the front runner. Between us.