Bharat Jodo Yatra: Rahul addresses rally in Mysuru amid heavy rains

MYSURU: Congress MP Rahul Gandhi addressed a public rally amid a heavy downpour in Mysuru during the ongoing ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ on Sunday.

Addressing the rally, Gandhi said, “This yatra is like a river that will flow from Kanyakumari to Kashmir. This journey will not stop due to heat, storm, rain or cold. In this river, you will not see any hatred or violence. The river will showcase love and brotherhood.”

“No one can stop us from uniting India. No one can stop us from raising the voice of India. We will go from Kanyakumari to Kashmir, no one can stop the Bharat Jodo Yatra,” he added.

Earlier on Sunday, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, along with party leaders, attended an event at Badanavalu, Mysuru to mark the 153rd birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, on the 25th day of Bharat Jodo Yatra.

Rahul Gandhi offered a floral tribute to the Mahatma Gandhi statue at Khadi Gramodyog, Badanavalu Karnataka at 8 am followed by a prayer meeting.

On the 25th day of Bharat Jodo Yatra, Gandhi visited Khadi Village Industries at Badnavalu in memory of Bapu, said Congress.

Rahul Gandhi also met women weavers and talked about their experiences and challenges at work. He undertook a tree plantation by Bharat Yatris Khadi Garmodyog, Badanavalu.

The march was aimed to cover as many as 12 states in five months. It recently reached Karnataka on Friday (September 30) and will be here for the next 21 days before moving north.

The Padyatra (march) will cover a distance of 25 km every day.

Meanwhile, Congress is holding internal elections for the post of the party’s president for which as many as 20 nomination forms were submitted, including the ones of party leaders Shashi Tharoor, Mallikarjun Kharge, and KN Tripathi.

Kharge, a known Gandhi family loyalist, entered into the fray at the eleventh hour, and several top leaders from the G-23 faction flanked Kharge when he filed the nomination papers.

Senior Congress leader and MP, Shashi Tharoor on Friday filed his nomination for the post of party President at the All India Congress Committee (AICC) office in the national capital.

Kharge received support from nearly 30 Congress leaders for the party’s presidential polls.

Meanwhile, Jharkhand Congress leader KN Tripathi also filed his nomination for the party’s topmost position yesterday and said that “the decision of party leaders is respected”.

Meanwhile, former Madhya Pradesh CM Digvijaya Singh dropped out of the Congress presidential race. He too extended his support to Kharge, saying he “cannot think of contesting an election” against a senior leader like Kharge.

Singh was the second Congress leader to pull out of the race after Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot amid political turmoil in his state. Gehlot said he would be the proposer for Kharge.

Nominations for the post of Congress president closed at 3 pm on Saturday and results will be declared on October 19.