The Bharat Jodo Yatra of Congress is going on in full swing. Launched by Rahul Gandhi on September 7, the yatra entered its 11th day today. The 3,500-km march from Kanyakumari to Kashmir will be completed in 150 days and cover as many as 12 states.
The states where the yatra is not passing, including Odisha, will also be connected informed senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Sunday during a press conference in Bhubaneswar. Senior leader Digvijay Singh was also present at the presser. The Bharat Jodo Yatra in Odisha will be launched on October 31, 2022, said Ramesh.
Alleging that the ideology of BJP and RSS is destroying the country, Ramesh said that the Bharat Jodo Yatra is an attempt to unite the country and at the same time strengthen the Congress.
At the presser, Jairam Ramesh said that though BJD and BJP fight here in Odisha, they get united in Delhi. Both BJD and BJP are the two sides of the same coin and there is no difference between them, he alleged.
“When PM asks CM to sit, he sits and his MPs also do what the PM says. Bharat Jodo Yatra of Congress in the country targets BJP and RSS. But the Bharat Jodo Yatra Odisha will be against the BJP and BJD,” said Ramesh adding that it will be a parikrama yatra to bring a change in Odisha, making it a 'parivartan' yatra here.
Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) President Sarat Pattnayak said BJP had shown dreams of employment and pledged to resolve farmers' issues and control inflation, but they have failed miserably on all fronts. The ruling BJD government here has been a mute spectator as its leaders are not opposing any of the Centre’s move including the GST on essential commodities, he said.
“The Naveen Patnaik government has failed to provide employment, irrigation facilities and basic amenities to people in the last 22 years. Pregnant women are suffering due to no roads. We will start the Bharat Jodo Yatra here from October 31 and cover 2250 km in Odisha,” said Pattnayak.
Responding to the allegations, senior BJP leader Prithviraj Harichandan said, “Some attempt to unite the Congress needs to be taken. Both the senior leaders- Jairam Ramesh and Digvijay Singh should first try to look for Fevicol gum which can unite their party. Already PM Modi is tirelessly working on how to unite the country and the Congress doesn’t need to worry about it.”
BJD leaders could not be contacted over the allegations of Congress' Jairam Ramesh.