Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Sunday kick-started his second large-scale outreach programme, the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, from violence-hit Manipur’s Thoubal district near Imphal.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and other top leaders of the party participated in the launch ceremony of the yatra in Thoubal. The yatra aims to revive the party’s electoral prospects in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, following a poor showing in the last round of assembly elections.

The starting point of the Congress’ yatra in Manipur holds significance as it comes against the backdrop of ongoing ethnic violence in the state, which has claimed over 180 lives since May.

The Congress has said that it is taking out the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra is not an electoral one but is being taken out as the government did not give it a chance to raise people’s issues in Parliament and the initiative is aimed at re-establishing the principles of justice, liberty, equality and fraternity enshrined in the Constitution.

The Yatra will travel through 100 Lok Sabha segments in 15 states before it culminates in Mumbai on March 20 or 21. Besides Manipur, the yatra will cover four northeastern states — Nagaland (257 km in two days), Arunachal Pradesh (55 km in one day), Meghalaya (five km in one day) and Assam (833 km in eight days).

The yatra will then move on to West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra.

‘We understand your pain,’ Rahul Gandhi tells Manipur

Addressing the people of Manipur at the launch event of the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday promised to bring peace and harmony to the ethnic violence-hit state.

He also alleged that the violence in the state was due to “the politics of the BJP-RSS and their hatred”.

“We understand the pain that the people of Manipur have been through. Manipur has lost what it valued the most because of the politics of the BJP-RSS and the hatred they instil,” Gandhi said. “We will bring back the harmony, peace and affection that the state has always been known for.”

He also said that Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra is being carried out because the country is enduring a period of profound injustice in India – social, economic and political.

“Why Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra? Because we are enduring a period of profound injustice in India—social, economic and political. Injustice persists against people and traditions, with widespread issues across the nation,” he said.

Gandhi added that economically, monopolies are forming in the country and that a few individuals have access to the nation’s entire wealth. “A couple of entities control all sectors, leading to the destruction of small businesses. India is grappling with inflation and unemployment,” he said.

He also criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not visiting the ethnic violence hit Manipur.

“Lakhs of people faced losses, but the prime minister has not come here to wipe your tears, hold your hand or embrace you. Maybe for Narendra Modi, the BJP and the RSS, Manipur is not a part of India. Your pain is not their pain,” Gandhi said.

‘Our fight is for secularism, equality, social justice,’ Mallikarjun Kharge

At the event, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge accused the BJP of mixing religion with politics.

“The BJP mixes religion with politics, incites people; we fight for secularism, equality, social justice,” Kharge said.

Kharge also criticised Prime Minister Modi, saying that he came to the northeastern state only to seek votes and not to share the grief when the people of the state are in pain.

“Modi has time to drive by the sea, take a dip in the sea but has not come to Manipur. Modi keeps chanting ‘Ram, Ram’, but he should not do it to seek votes. The BJP mixes religion and politics, and incites people,” he said at the launch of the yatra.

“The BJP has ‘Ram’ on its lips but carries a knife by their side. They should not have such an approach towards people,” the Congress president added.