MEERUT: In the run
up
to the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the state unit of
Congress
began its '
UP Jodo Yatra
' on the lines of the 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' from
Saharanpur
on Wednesday.
Kick-starting the yatra from Gangoh assembly constituency after offering prayers at the Shakumbhari Devi temple in Saharanpur district, UP Congress Committee (
UPCC
) president Ajay Rai said the aim of the yatra is to connect with the people of the state and raise issues related to farmers, labourers, youth and women.
The yatra will pass through districts with substantial Muslim population, indicating the party's focus on expanding its outreach to the minority community, and will culminate at Shaheed Smarak in Lucknow on January 10, 2024. The districts through which the yatra will pass include Saharanpur, Deoband, Muzaffarnagar, Bijnor, Amroha, Moradabad, Rampur, Bareilly, Shahjahanpur, Lakhimpur, Sitapur and Lucknow. The yatra will be heading towards Deoband on Thursday. Attacking the ruling BJP, Rai said, "Every category of citizens, including farmers, women, youths, traders and minorities, is troubled by BJP... This is the first phase of the yatra and lots of people have come out to support it on the first day itself."
Meanwhile, former minister and state spokesperson of Congress CP Rai said, "We have sent invites to Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge and leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to join the yatra."
"The main aim of this yatra will be to lend a personal touch to all strata of society and expose BJP's double standards. The yatra will cover around 25 km daily and will stay two days in one district," Rai further said.
Earlier on Tuesday, the administration had denied permission to start the yatra from inside the Saharanpur city, because of which re-routing had to be done. "We have given permission to hold the yatra but had raised objections to taking it out from within the city as it would have led to traffic jams," said Saharanpur SSP Vipin Tada.
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