Pawan Khera and Manish Khanduri
One of the more noticeable impacts of the #BharatJodoYatra, barely one month into its five month course, is how a sharper, and more nuanced picture of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is emerging, despite as he himself puts it, “Thousands of crores of media money have been spent in trying to shape me in a way which is untruthful and wrong.”
At a freewheeling press conference at the midday break at Aralikere Paula Village, Turuvekere, Tumkur, Gandhi spoke on a number of issues, including the principles driving the yatra. “Spreading hatred and violence in the country is an anti-national act”, he said, “We will fight anybody who spreads hatred and violence.”
Gandhi also spoke about his own beliefs and how they found congruence with the ideology of the Bharat Jodo Yatra. “I believe in tapasya”, he said, “I wanted an element of suffering for myself. While I talk to the people on ground, I can share in their suffering.” These are words that mark the essence of a leader. We can’t help comparing this to a certain BJP leader whose idea of leadership is a rose tinted television image and a well rehearsed sound byte.
Meanwhile the padyatra resumed, accompanied by other crowds, from Aralikere Village in the later afternoon to conclude 10 kilometres away at Haridasanahalli Village, Turuvekera, Tumkur. It was a journey through the rural countryside, roads lined on both sides by fields. Speaking of the experience, yatri Samrat Jena stated how the Bharat Yatris have now become used to walking long distances. “It used to be tough earlier, walking long distances day after day, but now 10 kilometres sounds and feels like nothing, a breeze!”
In the end we can conclude, as we started, with the words of Gandhi who summarised his experiences of the yatra so far. “When you are on the road” he said “speaking to the people, the communication gets better. For me, #BharatJodoYatra has been a learning experience.”
So it has been for us all.
The Bharat Jodo Yatra is presently in the state of Karnataka. Over 21 days in the state, it will cover 511 kilometres.
The Bharat Jodo Yatra is a five month, 3500 kilometre long padyatra from Kanyakumari in the South of India to Srinagar in the North. It is part of the party’s national mass outreach program aimed at highlighting social polarisation, economic inequalities and political centralisation.
End of Day Travel Facts
1. Current District Name -Tumkur
2. Raja Ramanna famous Indian nuclear physicist was from Tumkur
3. The district is also known as ‘Kalpataru Nadu’ (land of coconuts), for its production of coconuts.
Tweet of the day