Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav on Monday thanked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for inviting him to his ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ and wished it a success.
In a letter addressed to Rahul Gandhi, the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said, “Thanks for the invitation to the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ and wishes for the success of the ‘Bharat Jodo’ initiative.” “India is a feeling which is beyond geographical expansion, where there is love, non-violence, emotions, co-operation and bonhomie — the positive elements, which unite India.”
pic.twitter.com/ZlZjcVwSjk— Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) January 2, 2023
“Hope that this yatra achieves its aim of conserving this inclusive culture,” he said.
SP chief spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary said Yadav will not participate in the yatra, nor will any other leader from the party. Chaudhary, when asked whether Akhilesh or any other SP leader will be going to the Yatra, told PTI, “Akhilesh will not participate in the yatra and there is nil possibility of any other leader of the party going there.”
Senior UP Congress leader Nasimuddin Siddiqui said “Rahul Gandhi ji had written a letter to Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday to be a part of the yatra.” “I do not have any information on this,” he added, when asked whether Akhilesh will be attending it.
The clarification came days after the SP Chief said “Congress with the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) are the same” and stated he won’t be attending the Bharat Jodo Yatra because he wasn’t invited. “While our party has a different ideology, BJP and Congress are the same,” Yadav reportedly said on December 29.
SBSP Declines Congress Invite
Meanwhile, in Ballia, Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) Chief Om Prakash Rajbhar told PTI, he received an invitation for the Bharat Jodo Yatra and former Union minister Salman Khurshid called him regarding the invite. “The matter was discussed on Sunday with the party’s office bearers, and it was decided that the party will not be a part of Bharat Jodo Yatra.”
Rajbhar also asked what was the need to integrate India, when it was never disintegrated in the first place. “When has India disintegrated? Neither the Hindus living in the country nor the Muslims living in the country are in danger,” he said.
“The country is also not in danger. Yatras are being taken out to strengthen one’s party, so that it may make a strong connection with the masses,” he added.
Bharat Jodo Yatra in UP
The nationwide yatra will enter Uttar Pradesh from the Loni border in Ghaziabad on January 3 afternoon and will halt for the night in Mavikala village in Baghpat. It will pass through Shamli in UP on January 4 and enter Haryana through Sanauli in Panipat on January 5 evening.
Congress is also said to have extended invitations to BSP Chief Mayawati and RLD President Jayant Chaudhary for the yatra. However, these leaders too have not shown any inclination to join the yatra yet.
“Best wishes for the “Bharat Jodo Yatra” and thanks to Rahul Gandhi for writing a letter to me to take part in the yatra,” Mayawati said in a tweet in Hindi.
(With PTI inputs)
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