To Open Shop of Love in 'Bazar' of Hatred, Says RaGa as Bharat Jodo Yatra Enters Delhi | Check Diversions

The Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra entered Delhi on Saturday morning after a flag handover ceremony at Badarpur. Sonia and Priyanka Gandhi also joined the march. Though a traffic advisory (read below) was issued by Delhi Police, vehicle movement was seriously hit in southeast Delhi.

As Bharat Jodo Yatra entered Delhi, Rahul Gandhi said: “Some people are spreading hatred but common man of the country is now talking about love. In every state, lakhs have joined the yatra. I’ve said to people of RSS-BJP that we’re here to open the shop of love in your ‘bazar’ of hatred’

Congress General Secretary in-charge of communication, Jairam Ramsesh,w ho was part of the rally, said: “Anyone is welcome to join Bharat Jodo Yatra, be it Nitin Gadkari ji, Defence min Rajnath ji or former VP Venkaiah Naidu ji. Anyone, who believes in uniting India and shunning hatred is welcome to join this yatra.”

Yatra’s Day Plan

The Rahul Gandhi-led yatra entered Delhi from the Badarpur border in southeast Delhi at 6.30 am and would conclude at Red Fort via Ashram Chowk, covering a distance of 23 kilometres, according to the police advisory.

The yatra will reach Jai Dev Ashram near Ashram Chowk around 10.30 am and will end at Red Fort around 4.30 pm, it said.  A large number of pedestrians and vehicles are expected to join the yatra at various points along the route, it said.

Traffic Snarls Hit southeast Delhi

Traffic was affected in parts of southeast Delhi Saturday morning as the Congress’ Bharat Jodo Yatra, led by party leader Rahul Gandhi, entered the city. The traffic police had issued an advisory on Friday cautioning commuters about the routes that were likely to be affected by the yatra.

The yatra will make its morning halt in the national capital at Ashram chowk at 11 am and will resume at 1 PM. Traffic snarls are expected in parts of central Delhi later in the day when the yatra heads towards the Red Fort via the Mathura road, India Gate and ITO.

Routes To Avoid

During the yatra, Badarpur flyover, Mitha Pur Chowk, Prahlad Pur Red Light, MB Road, Apollo flyover, Mathura Road, Mathura Road, Okhla Mod red light, Modi Mill flyover, NFC Red Light, Ashram Chowk, Mool Chand, Andrews Ganj, AIIMS, will be affected, it said.

Captain Gaur Marg, Dayal Singh College, Nizamuddin flyover, Safdarjung Madarsa, Pragati Maidan tunnel exiting towards IP Flyover, Mathura Road/Bhairon Road T-Point, Subramaniam Bharti Marg/Zakir Hussain Marg crossing, Mandi House, Turkman Gate, Rajghat Chowk, etc. roads and points will also be affected, it stated.

Traffic is expected to remain heavy from Badarpur Border to Red Fort. Commuters are requested to cooperate by avoiding or bypassing the affected roads and make maximum use of public transport to ensure a pleasant journey, the advisory said.

There will be graded and dynamic diversions to ensure smooth traffic management and facilitate commuters while ensuring safety of pedestrians on roads, it said.

People travelling towards ISBT, railway stations and airports are advised to carefully plan their travel with sufficient time, the advisory added. It entered Haryana from Rajasthan on Wednesday.

A mass contact initiative of the Congress, the yatra began from Kanyakumari on September 7 and has covered Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan till now

For BJP, Covid is Where Bharat Jodo Yatra Is: Rahul Gandhi

Mounting his attack on the BJP, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday said the ruling party can hold as many public meetings as it wants in the rest of India but sees Covid only where his Bharat Jodo Yatra is passing through.

His fresh attack came a day after he said the government is coming up with “excuses” to stop the Kanyakumari-to-Kashmir yatra, which is currently in Haryana and will enter the national capital on Saturday.

“Now, (the Union) health minister is writing me letter that Covid has come back, stop the yatra. In the rest of India, BJP can hold as many public meetings as they want, but where Bharat Jodo Yatra is going on, there is Corona and Covid,” Gandhi said addressing a public meeting here Friday evening.

Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, addressing a news conference here earlier in the day, accused the government of orchestrating the “Covid drama” to defame and derail the Bharat Jodo Yatra and said his party would follow any protocol based on scientific advice that would be uniformly implemented.

Earlier this week, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya wrote to Gandhi requesting him to consider suspending the march if Covid protocols could not be followed.

Addressing the gathering here, Gandhi lashed out at the BJP and said a select few are spreading hate and they want farmers and the youth to have fear in their hearts so they can convert it into hatred.

On Friday morning, the yatra resumed from Kherli Lala in Sohna in Gurugram before entering Faridabad.