Delhi/Ghaziabad/Baghpat, Jan 3: Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah and RAW ex-chief A. S. Dulat joined Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra as it re-started Tuesday from Delhi after a nine-day break.
Another notable participant was former Congress spokesperson and Rajya Sabha MP Priyanka Chaturvedi of the Shiv Sena’s Thackeray faction.
While Abdullah joined the yatra near Ghaziabad-Loni border, Dulat walked with Rahul from Jaffarabad. Though they didn’t walk together, Abdullah and Dulat — two important figures in Kashmir — attending the yatra on the same day comes at a time when the former Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) boss is making headlines with his memoir ‘A Life in the Shadows’ in which he has devoted a chapter on ‘Doctor Sahib’ (Abdullah) and also referred to Rahul.
The yatra began Tuesday from Delhi’s Kashmiri Gate where Rahul sought blessings at Marghat Hanuman Mandir before beginning his walk towards the Loni border from where the procession crossed over to Uttar Pradesh.
En route to Uttar Pradesh, the yatra travelled through North-East Delhi, specifically areas like Jaffarabad and Gokulpuri, which saw communal riots in 2020.
Like her party chief’s son Aaditya Thackeray who participated in the yatra when it was traversing through Maharashtra, Priyanka Chaturvedi was the representative of her embattled party in the Delhi leg of the yatra.
Congress general secretary in-charge for Uttar Pradesh Priyanka Gandhi Vadra joined her brother in Ghaziabad. As per the yatra tradition, Delhi unit chief Anil Chaudhary handed the national flag to his UP counterpart Brijlal Khabri when the yatra entered the country’s electorally most important state.
“Mere bade bhai…idhar dekho (My elder brother…look here),” Priyanka said jestfully to Rahul as she addressed the crowd in Ghaziabad.
“I’m most proud of you. All forms of power were used, the government spent hundreds of crores to tarnish his reputation, but he didn’t budge from the truth. Agencies were put behind him, but he didn’t get scared. He’s a warrior. Adani and Ambani bought out big leaders, PSUs and the media, but they couldn’t buy my brother,” Priyanka said as the crowds clapped in unison. (Agencies)
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