Mysuru (Karnataka): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday braved the rains to address a packed rally here on Sunday evening.
Dedicating the Bharat Jodo Yatra to Mahatma Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi said the Mahatma taught people to always keep walking, be fearless and free.
The Congress scion said the Kanyakumari-to-Kashmir march would not stop for anything and thanked the people for coming “from far away” and standing in the rains to listen. “For that I thank you with all my heart.”
Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera tweeted: “Initially, I tried to take cover but then I saw @RahulGandhi deciding not to wait for the rains to stop because thousands of people were getting soaked, waiting to hear him. He started his address, getting totally drenched. Truly a leader. #Bharat.”
Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said: “It was a clear announcement. No power can stop Bharat Jodo Yatra from uniting the country against hate, unemployment and inflation.”
The yatra got off to an explosive start on Sunday evening as hordes of people showed up to a great, festive and vibrant atmosphere.
The march resumed from Sri Kaalibeeramma Temple and seized momentum in Mysuru district.
Earlier, Gandhi issued a statement underlining the underlined core objectives of the yatra.
“Just as Gandhiji fought the British Raj, we are today embarked on a battle with the very ideology that killed Gandhi.”
Later in the day, he visited the Sri Srikanteshwara Swamy Temple in Nanjangud.
Along the march, some prominent people met Gandhi. Over the next 21 days in Karnataka, the march will cover 511 km. It is a five-month, 3,500-km march from Tamil Nadu’s Kanyakumari to Jammu and Kashmir’s Srinagar.
It is part of the party’s national mass outreach programme aimed at highlighting social polarisation, economic inequalities and political centralisation.
