Bharat Jodo Yatra is definitely a political action and not a sports yatra: Rahul Gandhi

The Congress leader denied any possibility of a tie-up with Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS)

Giving clarity about the political aspirations behind the Bharat Jodo Yatra, Congress leader and Parliament member, Rahul Gandhi said the yatra was definitely a political action and the political outcome of it will be known only at the end of the yatra in Srinagar.

“My focus is very clear and my job is to walk from Kanyakumari to Kashmir and listen to every single person who wants to be heard regardless of religion, community, and rich or poor. “That is the only thing I am seeing now. I can answer only in Srinagar, at the end of yatra, whether this has some political outcome or not,” he said. “This is not a sports yatra,” he said.

As of now, the intention of this action was to spread the message of peace and harmony in the country, he said while addressing a press conference at Kothur on the outskirts of Hyderabad where he halted for a break on the sixth day of yatra in Telangana.

Alleging that during the BJP government’s rule there has been a systematic attack on institutions in India, he said they would be freed from the clutches of the RSS and the BJP once Congress comes back to power. “The institutions, judiciary, media and bureaucracy were under attack and their freedom would be restored once the Congress comes to power.

The Congress MP also categorically made it clear that the party will not have any tie-up with the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS). “I have not taken this decision but our collective leadership of Telangana has taken this decision and the party has accepted it,” he said while targeting the TRS.

On the Telangana Chief Minister, K. Chandrashekhar Rao wooing other political parties in the country, he said it was fine if he talked to the Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar or any other leader. “Mr. KCR can form a global party and contest anywhere and that is also fine. But only the Congress can defeat the ideology of the BJP,” he said.

Mr. Gandhi maintained that the fight in India today was between two ideologies - one is seeking to divide the nation other is to unite the nation. Congress party feels it is very important that the opposition works together harmoniously to defeat the ideology of RSS and BJP, he argued.