Tamil Nadu MP and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’s (DMK) Deputy General Secretary Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, on Friday, December 23, joined the Haryana leg of Bharat Jodo Yatra led by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. The walkathon resumed on Friday from Kherli Lala in Sohna on the third and last day of its Haryana leg in the first phase. Senior Congress leaders from the state have been part of the foot march that entered Nuh in Haryana from Rajasthan on Wednesday.
In a tweet, Kanimozhi said, "I was delighted to take part in the Bharat Jodo Yatra, which celebrates our diversity, in Haryana today. Mr @RahulGandhi's vision of uniting India, is an idea which will be taken forward by the people of India. Braving the morning chill, among those who walked along with Rahul were former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and senior leaders Randeep Singh Surjewala and Kumari Selja."
I was delighted to take part in the Bharat Jodo Yatra, which celebrates our diversity, in Haryana today. Mr. @RahulGandhi's vision of uniting India, is an idea which will be taken forward by the people of India.
— Kanimozhi (கனிமொழி) (@KanimozhiDMK) December 23, 2022
(1/2) pic.twitter.com/YH0kV6y7yu
Apart from Kanimozhi, several leaders and notable personalities joined the yatra. Actor, filmmaker and Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) president Kamal Haasan is expected to join Rahul Gandhi on December 24 in Delhi. Former Reserve Bank of India governor Raghuram Rajan joined the Rajasthan leg of Bharat Jodo Yatra on December 14, when he said that India’s growth rate was slowing down even before the pandemic and the pandemic had further contributed to reducing it. Apart from this, Congress leaders Priyanka Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi, actor Swara Bhasker were some of the notable people who joined the yatra. The yatra will pass through Faridabad district, including Pakhal village, Pali Chowk and Gopal Garden, during the day.
After entering Nuh on Wednesday, Rahul Gandhi had targeted the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), suggesting that while the Congress gives voice to farmers and labourers, another ideology benefits only a select few. The former Congress chief had also slammed the ruling party over inflation and unemployment.
On Thursday, Rahul said the government is coming up with "excuses" to stop the Bharat Jodo Yatra, days after Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya wrote to him to consider suspending the march if COVID-19 protocols could not be followed.
The Kanyakumari-to-Kashmir yatra, a mass contact initiative of the Congress that started on September 7, has so far covered Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. The first phase of the yatra in Haryana concludes on Friday. In the second phase, the yatra is scheduled to re-enter Haryana from Uttar Pradesh at Sanoli Khurd in Panipat district on January 6.
(With PTI inputs)