Bhubaneswar, Feb 8: The Odisha leg of Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Nyaya Yatra, which he spearheaded, concluded today at Jharsuguda. Following this, Rahul Gandhi and his team have moved on to Chhattisgarh. During the third day of the yatra, Rahul Gandhi commenced a padayatra (foot march) from Jharsuguda Old Bus Stand Street at 8:00 AM.
In his rally at Belpahar in Jharsuguda district, Rahul Gandhi criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing him of deception regarding his caste background. Gandhi asserted that Modi was not born in the Other Backward Class (OBC) category as claimed, but rather belonged to the general caste. He alleged that the BJP government had reclassified Modi's community as OBC in 2000. Rahul claimed that Modi belongs to the Modi-Ghanchi caste.
Furthermore, Rahul Gandhi announced that the INDIA alliance has decided to emphasize the demand for a caste census to counter the BJP's Hindutva narrative. He asserted that only the Congress party would conduct a caste census, criticizing Modi for his alleged reluctance to do so.
The Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra will resume on February 11 in Raigarh, Chhattisgarh, after a brief break starting Thursday afternoon.
The second leg of the Bharat Jodo Yatra led by Rahul Gandhi began in Imphal of Manipur on January 14. The 67-day long Yatra will culminate at Mumbai on March 20 passing through 14 states and 85 districts from the east to the west of India. . This is an exercise seen as the party's attempt to rally support ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
