Congress to hold yatras at district level to mark first anniversary of Bharat Jodo Yatra: Sources
New Delhi (PTI): The Congress is set to hold yatras at the district level to commemorate the Kanyakumari-to-Kashmir Bharat Jodo Yatra, which was launched on September 7 last year, sources said on Sunday.
The party is planning to mark in a big way the beginning of the cross-country march that saw Rahul Gandhi, along with several party leaders, traverse over 4,000 kilometres and interact with a cross-section of society.
The sources said yatras will be held at the district level to mark the one-year anniversary of the beginning of the Bharat Jodo Yatra on September 7 last year.
They said the modalities of how long the yatras will be and other details are being worked out.
Gandhi launched the yatra on September 7, 2022, in Kanyakumari. It ended on January 30 this year as Gandhi capped his ambitious 145-day journey in Srinagar.
"I have not done this (yatra) for myself or for the Congress but for the people of the country. Our aim is to stand against the ideology that wants to destroy the foundation of this country," Gandhi had said at the Sher-e-Kashmir Cricket Stadium in Srinagar at a rally marking the grand finale of the cross-country march.
During the course of the yatra, Gandhi addressed 12 public meetings, over 100 corner meetings and 13 press conferences. He had over 275 planned walking interactions and more than 100 sitting interactions.
Many experts had said a big takeaway from the yatra for the Congress had been Gandhi's image transformation -- from a reluctant and part-time politician to one who is mature and taken seriously by opponents.
Jairam Ramesh, the Congress general secretary, considered the brain behind the yatra along with party colleague Digvijaya Singh, had said back then that the transformation of Gandhi's image was not the cause of the yatra but a consequence of it.
Asserting that the Congress made huge gains from the yatra, Ramesh had said the party succeeded in conveying the messages of the march -- the threats to the republic from economic inequalities, social polarisation and political dictatorship.
With over 4,000 kilometres under his belt, Gandhi had managed to catch the attention of his supporters as well as detractors and the march saw participation from a cross-section of society, including film and TV celebrities such as Kamal Haasan, Pooja Bhatt, Riya Sen, Sushant Singh, Swara Bhasker, Rashami Desai, Akanksha Puri and Amol Palekar.
Besides participation from tinsel town celebrities, writers, military veterans, including former Army chief Gen (Retd) Deepak Kapoor, ex-Navy chief Admiral (Retd) L Ramdas, and noted people such as former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan and ex-finance secretary Arvind Mayaram had also participated in the yatra.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
TN youth from UAE has tested negative for Mpox: Health Minister Subramanian
Chennai, Nov 2: A 27-year-old native of Thiruvarur district, who had arrived from Sharjah, has tested negative for monkey pox, Health Minister Ma Subramanian said here on Saturday.
Test results from both the King Institute of Preventive Medicine and Research here and the Pune-based National Institute of Virology have show negative for Mpox virus, the minister said.
Subramanian had earlier in the day told reporters that result was awaited for the sample that had been dispatched to the NIV while test result from King Institute ruled out monkey pox.
On October 31, upon his arrival at Tiruchirappalli airport from the UAE, during screening, the young man displayed fever symptoms and small skin lesions. Hence, he was taken to a government hospital.
Subramanian said the returnee had been frightened and hence left for his hometown of Valangaiman in Thiruvarur district. "This treatment is for his good and in order to prevent the spread of infection," the minister said.
Hence, he was brought back to the hospital by the authorities with police help and he has been receiving good treatment at the state-run facility. Further, Subramanian said that the test result from the government-run King Institute indicated Chickenpox and marked negative for presence of Mpox.
Screening at airports for passengers arriving from foreign countries is going on continuously in the state and international airports have dedicated isolated rooms.
Special wards are ready in government medical college hospitals, including those in Chennai and Tiruchirappalli, to provide treatment for Mpox, in case anyone tests positive for the infection, the minister added.
