SP has not received any invitation for Bharat Jodo Yatra, says Akhilesh Yadav; slams BJP, Congress

New Delhi: Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday (December 29, 2022) said that they have not received any invitation for Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra. Congress had recently said that it has invited several leaders of non-BJP parties, including Akhilesh Yadav, BSP supremo Mayawati and RLD’s Jayant Chaudhary, to take part in the Uttar Pradesh leg of the Bharat Jodo Yatra from January 3.

“We have not received any invitation (for Bharat Jodo Yatra). The ideology of our party is different. BJP and Congress both are same,” Akhilesh told reporters in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.

Speaking on the reservation for OBCs in urban local body polls, Akhilesh asked the Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government to convene a special session of the state assembly to discuss the issue.

The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister also dubbed the BJP as “anti-OBC” and “anti-Dalit”.

“If the government’s conscience is clear, it should convene a special session of assembly so that they can put forth their point and give us a chance to put our view on OBC reservation in urban local body polls,” he said.

Yadav said, if needed, the party’s OBC wing will approach the Supreme Court to protect the interest of the Other Backward Classes.

The Uttar Pradesh government on Wednesday appointed a five-member commission on reservation of OBCs in urban local body elections.

The panel’s constitution came after the Allahabad High Court quashed the state government’s draft notification on urban local body elections and ordered it to hold the polls without reservation for OBCs.

Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra is scheduled to enter Uttar Pradesh through Ghaziabad’s Loni area on January 3 and travel to Haryana via Shamli’s Kairana.

The next day, the yatra will reach Mavi Kalan in Baghpat and pass through Baghpat city and Sisana, Sarurpur and Barot in the same district. On January 5, the yatra will reach Alam in Shamli district and pass through Kandhla, Uncha village and Kairana.

The Kanyakumari-to-Kashmir yatra, which has so far traversed more than 2,800 km through 10 states, is currently on a nine-day winter break and will resume on January 3. 

It started from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu on September 7 and will conclude in Kashmir early next year.

Bureau Report