18 June,2024 01:50 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Rahul Gandhi. File Photo
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will turn 54 on June 19. Born into a politically influential Gandhi-Nehru family, Rahul's upbringing was steeped in political legacy.
His father, Rajiv Gandhi, served as India's Prime Minister, while his mother, Sonia Gandhi, continues to be a prominent figure in Indian politics.
Rahul Gandhi's political journey began when he was elected to the Lok Sabha from the Amethi constituency in Uttar Pradesh in 2004. As General Secretary of the Indian National Congress (INC), he advocated for youth empowerment and grassroots engagement.
Bharata Jodo Nyay Yatra led by Rahul Gandhi
In 2024, Rahul Gandhi led movements like the Bhartat Jodo Nyay Yatra, also known as Nyay Yatra, after the Bharat Jodo Yatra in 2022. It claimed to have aimed to unite India through justice.
As claimed by the party, the campaign seeked to understand the challenges and difficulties faced by the poor, laborers, farmers, women, youth, backward classes, Dalits, tribals, and minorities and seeked to find a solution for them. The Yatra claimed to have been initiated due to the anti-people policies of the current Central Government, which had resulted in difficult times for every section of society and the country.
The aim of the yatra was claimed to find ways in which justice could be delivered to every Indian. According to the party's manifesto of this movement, every woman should be respected, every youth should have opportunities for education and employment, every farmer should get the right price for his hard work and his crop, every laborer should get the right income, and there should be provision of education and medicine for every citizen.
The aim of this journey was to create an India where every section has a stake in resources and institutions. During the Bharat Jodo Nyaya Yatra, it was claimed that Rahul Gandhi not only met with lakhs of people but listened attentively to their concerns. Based on these interactions, he had announced guarantees for farmers, such as implementing MSP as per the Swaminathan Committee's recommendations, conducting caste censuses, and abolishing the 50% reservation limit.
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How was Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in 2024 was different from Bharat Jodo Yatra 2022
Rahul Gandhi's east-to-west Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra began on January 14 in Thoubal, Manipur, and traveled 6713 kilometers through 15 states before ending on Saturday in Mumbai.
The first version of the yatra, called the Bharat Jodo Yatra, began on September 7, 2022 from the south in Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu, and concluded in the north in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir. It reportedly covered 4080 kms, across 12 states.
Many celebrities and political figures joined Rahul Gandhi for a mile or two of walking during the first march. Numerous celebrities from the cinema and television industries, including Kamal Haasan, Pooja Bhatt, Riya Sen, Swara Bhasker, Rashami Desai, Akanksha Puri, and Amol Palekar, participated in the march.
It is said that the second march, which was mainly a bus yatra to accommodate daily marches, traveled a greater distance faster than the first march, which was mainly on foot.