Daijiworld Media Network- Patna
Patna, Sep 1: The Congress’ 14-day, 1,300-km-long Voter Adhikar Yatra will culminate in Bihar’s capital Patna on Monday, with several INDIA bloc leaders joining leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, in a procession marking the conclusion of the political campaign ahead of the assembly polls.
Among those participating in the ‘Gandhi se Ambedkar’ march are Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, CPI(ML) Liberation general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, CPI general secretary D Raja, CPI(M) general secretary M.A. Baby, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut, NCP working president Supriya Sule, and TMC leaders Yusuf Pathan and Lalitesh Tripathi.
“The massive procession will start at 11:15 am from historic Gandhi Maidan, where floral tributes will be offered at the statue of Mahatma Gandhi. The procession will pass through SP Verma road, Dak Bunglow crossing, Kotwali Thana, Nehru Patah, Income Tax Roundabout, before reaching the statue of B.R. Ambedkar near Patna High Court. Leaders will pay tributes before addressing a public gathering,” Bihar Congress media head Rajesh Rathod told reporters.
Patna is decked with posters and banners of opposition leaders, including Sonia Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Lalu Prasad, and Tejashwi Yadav.
Congress leader Pawan Khera described the yatra as a “religious pilgrimage in which people of all faiths are participating,” adding that its conclusion in Patna would mark the beginning of a renewed effort to protect democracy.
Launched by Rahul Gandhi from Sasaram on August 17, the yatra highlighted alleged assaults on voters’ rights through the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar. It passed through over 110 assembly constituencies across 25 districts. Opposition parties have alleged that the deletion of 65 lakh names from draft electoral rolls as part of SIR was an “assault” on voters’ rights. The Election Commission had published the names of those removed following Supreme Court directions to release the data by August 19 and file a compliance report by August 22.