Congress chief Mallikarjun Khrage has written to the heads of 21 political parties, inviting them to join the concluding ceremony of the Bharat Jodo Yatra in Srinagar on January 30.
Letters have been sent to Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Janata Dal (United) leader and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, DMK president and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader and Bihar Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav, Shiv Sena’s Uddhav Thackeray, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader N Chandrababu Naidu, Samajwadi Party’s (SP) Akhilesh Yadav, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) chief and Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren.
The invitation letters were also sent to Sitaram Yechury of Communist Party of India (Marxist) and D Raja of Communist Party of India (CPI), Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah of the National Conference (NC), Nationalist Congress Party Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti, RJD leader Sharad Yadav, and leaders of the Hindustani Awam Morcha, the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK), the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), and the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP).
The list does not include the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) led by Telangana CM K Chandrasekhar Rao (popularly known as KCR), and Ghulam Nabi Azad’s Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP).
“From the beginning of the Yatra, we have invited the participation of every like-minded Indian. At the invitation of Rahul Gandhi, MPs of several political parties have also walked in the Yatra at different stages. I now invite you to personally join the concluding function of the Bharat Jodo Yatra to be held in Srinagar on January 30th at noon. The function is dedicated to the memory of Mahatma Gandhi, who lost his life on this day in his tireless struggle against the ideology of hatred and violence,” read Kharge’s invitation letter.
He went on to say: “At this time, when the Opposition’s voice is being suppressed in Parliament and the media, the Yatra is connecting directly with lakhs of people. We have discussed the grave issues affecting our nation — inflation, unemployment, social divisions, weakening of democratic institutions and the threat on our borders. All sections of society have also participated and shared their problems — youth, women and elderly; farmers, labourers, small businessmen and industrialists; Dalits, Adivasis, and linguistic and religious minorities; activists, artists and spiritual leaders. This direct conversation with the people has been a major achievement of the Yatra.”
“…we will commit ourselves to fighting hatred and violence, to spread the message of truth, compassion and non-violence, and to defend the Constitutional values of liberty, equality, fraternity and justice for all,” he added.
