Bharat Jodo Yatra: Sonia Joins Rahul In Karnataka

Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday joined the 3,570-km Bharat Jodo Yatra, spearheaded by her son Rahul, in Madya district of Karnataka for the first time since it started almost a month back.

Sonia walked along with Rahul Gandhi, party general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal and Karnataka Congress president DK Shivakumar and other yatris for 30 minutes between Jakkanahalli and Karadya in Madya.

“She stayed with the Bharat Jodo Yatra for 2 hours, energised by support of people of Karnataka and in turn strengthening our resolve,” informed Congress communications in-charge Jairam Ramesh.

A video circulating on social media shows a visibly concerned Rahul persuading her to stop walking and accompany the padyatris in a car instead.

Rahul Gandhi tying the shoelace of his mother Sonia Gandhi during Bharat Jodo Yatra@Anand_Journ reports pic.twitter.com/0XQt6T3izh

— The New Indian (@TheNewIndian_in) October 6, 2022

Another photo of Rahul tying Sonia’s shoelaces during the yatra has won accolades online, with some people calling it an expression of “pure love between mother and son” and urging netizens not to see it through the prism of politics.

This is her first political engagement since she returned from abroad after treatment a month back – and outside Delhi in nearly a year. The 75-year-old leader has undergone treatment for some ailments including Covid-19 infections in the recent past.

Sonia skipped the function held in Kanyakumari to mark the flagging off of the yatra due to health reasons. In a letter, she exhorted party leaders and workers to make the yatra a success.

She also could not attend the grand ‘Mehangai Pe Halla Bol’ rally, which Rahul Gandhi addressed in Delhi on September 4.

The yatra began from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu on September 7, with a declared aim of uniting India against hatred and polarization.

Sonia reached Mysore on October 3. The yatra halted for two days in Karnataka on the occasion of Dussehra and resumed Thursday morning.

In July, the Congress interim chief was questioned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) thrice in connection with an alleged money laundering case involving the National Herald newspaper. She was diagnosed with Covid-19 soon after appearing before the agency and was admitted to Sir Ganga Ram Hospital.

Rahul was also questioned for 54 hours on five occasions by the ED in the same case.