Cong to launch 'Parivartan Sankalp Yatra' in Gujarat from Oct 31

AHMEDABAD: The Congress will take out a massive 'Gujarat Parivartan Sankalp Yatra' in five zones of the poll-bound state from Monday, during which 145 public meetings and 95 rallies will be held along the route covering more than 5,400 km.

The yatra will be launched from Vadgam, Bhuj, Somnath, Vadgam, Fagvel and Jambusar on October 31 to mark the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and the death anniversary of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, party leaders said.

Senior party leaders, including Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, his Chhattisgarh counterpart Bhupesh Baghel, former Madhya Pradesh chief ministers Digvijaya Singh and Kamal Nath, Congress MLA Sachin Pilot, among others, will launch and join the yatra, they said.

''The Congress' 'Parivartan Sankalp Yatra' will be launched in five zones of Gujarat, and 145 public meetings and 95 rallies will be organised throughout the journey. The yatra, which will cover 5,432 km, aims to establish direct contact with 4.5 crore people,'' state Congress president Jagdish Thakor said.

More than one million party workers will join the yatra and the opposition party will spread the message of 11 promises that it has said it will fulfil when voted to power, he said. Digvijay Singh will launch the Bhuj-Rajkot leg of the yatra, while Karnataka leader B K Hariprasad will launch it from Somnath.

Gehlot will launch the yatra from Vadgam in Banaskantha district, Pilot from Fagvel in Kheda district and Pawan Khera from Jambusar in Bharuch district of south Gujarat.

Senior Gujarat Congress leader Siddharth Patel said the people of Gujarat were agitated by the ''BJP's misrule, wrong policy and clumsy administration'' for the past three decades. The Congress has promised to provide free treatment of up to Rs 10 lakh, farmers' debt waiver of up to Rs 3 lakh, electricity bill waiver, 10 lakh government jobs to youth, unemployment allowance of Rs 3,000 per month, opening of 3,000 government English medium schools, Rs 4 lakh compensation for COVID-19 deaths, among other things.