Manipur Nod to Rahul's Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra With Riders

Guwahati/New Delhi: After much confusion, the Manipur government approved the venue for the flagging off of the proposed January 14 Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, albeit "with a limited number of participants."

The approval by the Manipur government came eight days after the Congress approached it for flagging off the yatra from Hapta Kangjeibung ground.

Earlier in the day, the Congress claimed that the Manipur government had refused to grant permission to launch the Congress party’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra at Hapta Kangjeibung in Imphal East.

Reacting sharply to the development, the Congress made it categorically clear that the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra will start from Manipur only on January 14, notwithstanding the hurdles being created against it.

"Maybe they are scared of this yatra,” party general secretary organisation K.C. Venugopal remarked.

Manipur Congress president Keisham Meghachandra, who called on chief minister N. Biren Singh, for the permission, had told reporters, “The chief minister cited the current unfavourable situation in Manipur as the reason for declining their request to launch the rally.”

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is scheduled to launch the yatra from Manipur capital Imphal on January 14. The proposed yatra entails traversing through parts of Manipur, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat before concluding in Mumbai on March 20.

The Congress asserted that the rally that will cover 6,713 km is apolitical and is being organised for the benefit of the people.

He reiterated that the Congress chose to start the yatra from Manipur in a bid to heal the wounds of the people affected by the ethnic violence since May 3, last year. Close to 200 people have been killed and some 60,000 more have been displaced in the conflict.

On Wednesday, the Congress party issued a booklet spelling out the purpose and motto of the yatra, besides launching a website www.bharatjodonyayatra.com and a phone number 9891802024, where people can register themselves for participation in the Nyay Yatra.

The party will also be registering the "Nyay Yodhas", who will not only participate in the yatra itself but will also be working outside.

The yatra marks the second such event after the successful completion of the Bharat Jodo Yatra led by Mr Gandhi.