Bharat Jodo Yatra attempted to give new direction to country’s politics: DKS

Bengaluru, Oct 25: KPCC Chief D K Shivakumar said the former Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra in Karnataka received tremendous public support and turned out to be an unprecedented success with people from sections, youth, women and farmers positively responding. Addressing a news conference at the KPCC office on Tuesday, October 25, he said Rahul Gandhi reached out to the common people and listened to the woes and problems of the people. "The Bharat Jodo Yatra did not remain simply a padayatra but became a people’s movement and is an honest attempt to give new direction to country’s politics," Shivakumar said youth, women and even young children spontaneously responded by freely walking with Rahul Gandhi. The KPCC chief said the way women, girls and children as well as farmers and youth mingled with Rahul Gandhi was reminiscent of the public response to his grandmother Indira Gandhi. There was no slackness in the yatra time-table, Shivakumar said pointing out that Rahul Gandhi would be ready for commencing the yatra by 6.30 am as he used to get up by 5.30 am daily and did not accept any suggestions for delaying the morning journey. Shivakumar said the momentum generated by Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra would not be allowed to dissipate and a pictorial exhibition of the yatra will be held in all districts. A committee headed by KPCC leader Dhruvanarayan with B L Shankar, V R Sudarshan, Prof Radhakrishna, C S Dwarakanath, Aishwarya Mahadev, Gurupadaswamy, Senthil, Mansoor Ali Khan and Dinesh Gooligowda will study different aspects of the yatra and its impact and also suggest plans for continuing similar campaigns in future. Answering questions, the KPCC chief said the decision on holding an AICC session in the state would be taken after Mallikarjuna Kharge assumes office as the new Congress president on Wednesday. It will be decided by the new AICC president and the state unit is ready if the honour is given to us, he added.