Bharat Jodo Yatra: Thousands gather to greet Rahul Gandhi in Bundi

Thousands gathered along the roads in Rajasthan’s Bundi district on Saturday to welcome the Congress’ Bharat Jodo Yatra as the Rahul Gandhi-led march covered nearly 30 kilometres before halting for the night.

Gandhi had resumed the 94th day of the march from Gudli village in Bundi in the morning, after a day’s break on Friday to celebrate his mother Sonia Gandhi’s birthday.

Around 6.30 pm in the evening, the yatra arrived in Kodkya village in Bundi’s Kapren area via the Balapura Chouraha to a huge welcome by local people. The yatris would stay the night in the village and resume the march again on Sunday.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, state Sports Minister Ashok Chandana, PCC chief Govind Singh Dotasra and several other party leaders accompanied Rahul Gandhi during the day.

As the yatra reached Sunwasa village, the participants were welcomed with Sanskrit verses recited by students of a Ved Vidyalaya.

Pukhraj Mehra (65), a retired Nayab Tehsildar from Jodhpur, along with his five or six companions reached Bundi on Friday night and joined the yatra.

”I had the opportunity to have a close look at Rahul Gandhi even though I was out of the security circle,” said Mehra, who marched for around five kilometres.

In Arneta, where the yatra had halted for lunch, Rahul Gandhi interacted with more than 30 students taking free IIT-NEET coaching classes under the Rajasthan government’s ‘Mukhyamantari Anuprati’ scheme.

The students are taking coaching classes at three different institutes in Kota city under the scheme aimed for the backward and economically weaker sections. A few of their faculty also attended the session. The yatra resumed post lunch around 3.30 pm and Gehlot’s former deputy Sachin Pilot joined it.

Sanitation workers led by local Congress leader Rakesh Boyat greeted Rahul Gandhi in Keshoraipatan town. Gandhi had a brief conversation with them and got pictures clicked.

This is the first time that the yatra, which began from Kanyakumari on September 8, has entered a Congress-ruled state.

On its 95th day on Sunday, the yatra will resume from Baldevpura village around 6 am and halt for a tea break at Laban village. It will resume the final leg of the day from Papri around 3.30 pm. The yatris will take an evening break near the Lakheri railway station and halt for the night at Ajad Nagar in Bundi.