As Bharat Jodo Yatra led Rahul Gandhi entered Manser in the Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh on Wednesday, people came out on the streets and thronged the yatra route in large numbers to give a rousing welcome and have a glimpse of the senior Congress leader.
Thousands of people could be seen lining up along the route of the Bharat Chhodo Yatar welcoming Rahul Gandhi and participating enthusiastically in the march.
On his arrival, Rahul Gandhi was accorded a warm welcome by Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and other senior leaders of the Congress party.
After entering the state from the border village of Ghatota, Punjab State Congress President, Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, handed over the tricolour to Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and State Congress President Pratibha Singh in presence of Rahul Gandhi.
The 24-kilometre Yatra leg of Himachal starting from Manser Toll Plaza converged at Malout Village in the Indora area of the Kangra district before entering Jammu and Kashmir on 19 January.
While addressing the gathering at Manser, Rahul Gandhi said that the Bharat Jodo Yatra was aimed at uniting the nation against the communal and divisive forces and giving a befitting reply to the nefarious designs of the BJP and the RSS.
“My aim is to unite the people and the nation against the anti-people policies of BJP,” said Gandhi.
He said the BJP completely failed to address the unemployment and inflation issues and involved itself in nepotism by providing benefits to its favourites. Nothing has been done for the youth and common masses as all the decisions of the BJP such as demonetisation, and wrong implementation of GST were aimed at benefiting their high-profile business friends, he added.
The Congress leader said he has received immense response from the general public during this Yatra and has also learned a lot from the people of ‘Bharat’.
On the request of the Himachal leadership, he made a few changes in his Yatra’s route so that he could also cover Himachal Pradesh on his way to Kashmir.
Sukhu, while welcoming Rahul Gandhi, said that the a massive victory of the party was in fact the victory of truth over corruption and the credit goes to the dedication and hard work of Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi.
He said that Himachal Pradesh would also follow the path of unity, integrity, and coexistence shown by the Congress party by launching the ‘Hath se Hath Jodo’ campaign.
He thanked the Congress leader for changing his itinerary at the request of the Himachal congress.
MP and state Congress President Pratibha Singh, while welcoming Rahul Gandhi, assured him that the state government and the party would implement all the 10 guarantees as promised in its ‘Pratigya Patra’.
She said that the state government has already announced the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) for its employees in its very first cabinet meeting and promises like providing Rs 1,500 to women in the age group of 18 to 60 years would be implemented soon.
Later, Rahul Gandhi along with Sukhu, Deputy CM Mukesh Agnihotri, Pratibha Singh and other dignitaries visited the historic Shiva Temple at Kathgarh and paid the obeisance.
The Yatra, which started from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu on 7 September, 2022, will conclude in Srinagar by 30 January, with the hoisting of the national flag.
Congress party in-charge Rajiv Shukla, co-in-charge Sanjay Dutt, Speaker Kuldeep Pathania, and Ministers, Dhani Ram Shandil, Chander Kumar, Harshwardhan Chauhan, Jagat Singh Negi, Rohit Thakur, Anirudh Singh and Vikramaditya Singh, also participated in the Yatra.