Bharat Jodo Yatra meant to 'ideologically combat RSS & BJP': Jairam Ramesh

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Saturday said the Bharat Jodo Yatra has not been organised to project Rahul Gandhi as a prime ministerial candidate for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls asserting that the foot march has nothing to do with electionsThe former Union minister also said the yatra is meant to ideologically combat the RSS and the BJPReplying to a reporters question here the Congress general secretary incharge communications said The Bharat Jodo Yatra has not been taken out to project Rahul Gandhi as a prime ministerial candidate It is an ideological yatra and Gandhi is its main face But it is not an individuals yatraAlso read At Panipat rally Rahul Gandhi targets BJP govt over Agnipath scheme GSTHe asserted that the KanyakumaritoKashmir foot march which is currently passing through Haryana is not an election yatraRamesh said it is unfair to ask if the opposition party is projecting Gandhi as its prime ministerial face in the 2024 general electionNo No No We are not This is not an election yatra he said in response to the reporters questionThere are 200 Bharat yatris It is the Congress partys yatra The party workers are involved Obviously the nations attention is on Rahul Gandhi because he is the most visible prominent and dynamic face of the yatra But this is not meant for an individual this is not meant to project him as a prime ministerial candidate he saidFlanked by former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda Ramesh said the yatra is meant to ideologically combat the RSS and the BJPRahul Gandhi has raised three big issues during the Bharat Jodo Yatra economic inequality social polarisation and political authoritarianism He is raising these issues everyday during his walking interactions his talking interactions in his corner speeches in his ralliesSo I think it is unfair for you to ask this question are we projecting him as a prime ministerial face We are not This is not an election yatra he saidRamesh said the foot march is meant to strengthen the Congresss ideology the party organisation and awaken the countrys conscience to the disaster and damage being caused by the personality of Prime Minister Narendra Modi his mode of functioning policies politics of harassment and politics of vendettaI do not think you should trivialise the Bharat Jodo Yatra Do not reduce it to individuals or elections the yatra is functioning at a much higher level he saidRamesh said when the Bharatiya Janata Party BJP came to power at the Centre in 2014 Modi had given the slogan of maximum governance and minimum government However what has been seen over the last eight years is maximum nafrat hatred and maximum polarisation In the name of religion caste language region he allegedAsked about certain comments of Congress leader Siddaramaiah pertaining to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh RSS in connection with the Gauri Lankesh murder case Ramesh said I have not seen this particular statement but I can tell you that the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi was ideologically driven it was not an accidental eventIt was the result of an ideology that opposed Mahatma Gandhis policies on unity in India on social harmony and social equality in India So I do not want to say anything unless I know the context in which the former Karnataka chief minister has made the statementHe then added that there are two clear ideologies in todays India the ideology of the RSS and the BJP which is politics of polarisation divisiveness spreading poison hatred and prejudice and that of the Congress which is to take everybody along to live and let live to have social harmonyThe Bharat Jodo Yatra has been organised to reinforce and strengthen the Congresss ideology which stands diametrically opposite to the RSS ideology the veteran leader saidThe Congress is the only political party in India that has never been in an alliance with the BJP in any government in any state he addedThe yatra resumed from Karnal on Saturday morning with scores of people joining Gandhi on his journeyThe foot march entered Karnal district on Friday from adjoining Panipat where Gandhi addressed a public meetingThe yatra which was launched from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu on September 7 will end with Gandhi hoisting the national flag in Jammu and Kashmirs Srinagar by January 30It has so far covered Tamil Nadu Kerala Karnataka Andhra Pradesh Telangana Maharashtra Madhya Pradesh Rajasthan three Haryana districts in the first phase Delhi and Uttar PradeshThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever