New Delhi: Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Monday said that there is no need for 'Congress Jodo' as the party stands united. While addressing a party briefing on Bharat Jodo Yatra, he said, "We are a democratic party. We don't silence voices. Those who are not satisfied issue statements. Some people write letters, some people tweet. This is a democratic system."
While releasing the anthem of the Yatra, which will be launched from Kanyakumari on September 7, Ramesh said, it's lyrics — ''Ek tera kadam, ek mera kadam, mil jaye, jud jaye apna watan' — signify the objective of the Yatra.
"Bharat Jodo Yatra, in no way in any form, is a Mann Ki Baat. It is about the concern for people. Its objective is to ensure that the concerns and demands expressed by the people reach Delhi," he said in a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's monthly radio broadcast. "It (Yatra) is not about long speeches, preaching, dramatics, teleprompter, we are going to listen," he said, adding that the Bharat Yatris, including Rahul Gandhi, who will walk the entire distance of the Yatra, are embarking on the journey with that objective. Ramesh said there is a need for "Bharat Jodo" because the country is being divided.
"The first reason for the division is economic disparities, the second being social polarisation and the third political centralisation as states' rights are being snatched away. So it is important to unite the country now. If not now, then when," he said.
Asked who will be leading the Yatra and when a new Congress president is elected on October 19, will there be a change in leadership of the Yatra, Ramesh said, "Rahul Gandhi is not leading the Yatra, but walking along others to highlight the issues of the people." Ramesh said that the Yatra will also be live streamed on its official website.
Before the launch of the 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' on September 7, Rahul Gandhi will take part in a prayer meeting at former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi's memorial in Sriperumbudur and attend an event in Kanyakumari where Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel will be present and the former Congress chief will be handed over a Khadi national flag, Jairam Ramesh said. After the event at the Mahatma Gandhi Mandapam where Stalin will be present, Rahul Gandhi, along with other Congress leaders, will walk to the venue of the public rally where the yatra will be launched.