'Saving Constitution to be theme of yatra

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Nyay Yatra will be themed around saving the Constitution and cover an average of 120km daily for 55 days by bus in the run-up to the 2024 general elections, leaders aware of the matter said on Friday. Gandhi will also announce a number of Congress's guarantees during the yatra.

- Saubhadra Chatterji

The east-west yatra will begin on January 14 in violence-torn Manipur, and end on March 20 in Mumbai, covering 14 states and 85 districts, largely by bus and on foot. Gandhi and others might sleep in containers during the yatra, the leaders cited above said.

The Congress has decided to invite leaders from the 28-party Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) to give it a wider political platform.

"This yatra will be fundamentally different from the Bharat Jodo Yatra. Our big focus is on saving the Constitution. The central theme is of economic, social and political justice. This yatra has also been derived from the Constitution. We will also invite all INDIA leaders to join the BNY. During the Bharat Jodo Yatra, too, many leaders including Sharad Pawar, MK Stalin participated in the rally," said a senior leader of the party.

The party also unveiled a fresh logo and a slogan for the rally.

Apart from the bus ride, Gandhi will walk every day between 5-7km and interact with ordinary people for one or two hours.