Noted activist and lawyer Prashant Bhushan, on Sunday, joined the Bharat Jodo Yatra led by Congress MP Rahul Gandhi. The Yatra is presently on its last leg in Telangana.

Later, Bhushan took to Twitter stating: “Participated in the Bharat Jodo Yatra today because I feel that it has the potential of positively changing the atmosphere of Hate which is being created by BJP and its associates. Hopefully it will also draw attention to the real problems of unemployment, prices, cronyism, etc.”

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Activist Yogendra Yadav also walked with Bhushan and Gandhi as the Yatra completed its 60th day and the participants set off towards Kamareddy from the Medak districts. Manda Krishna Madiga, seeking categorisation of Scheduled Castes also joined the Yatra. In the afternoon, Rahul Gandhi interacted with people belonging to SC, ST and OBC categories on various issues including those relating to caste discrimination, social empowerment, atrocities and persisting practices that demean women like devdasis and joginis.

However, both Gandhi and the Yatra drew some flak after the Congress candidate in Munugode lost her deposit. The candidate, Palvai Sravanthi Reddy, had joined the Yatra briefly. Although Munugode originally was a Congress bastion, the party recorded a dismal performance with most of the top leaders busy in making arrangements for the Yatra which entered Telangana on 23 October and will depart tomorrow.

However, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh has time and again said that the Yatra was not about electoral politics though it hopes to rejuvenate the party on the ground.