Congress changes venue after Manipur govt's conditional yatra permission

Congress said on Wednesday that it was determined to begin its Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra from Manipur after it was denied permission to flag off the yatra from Palace Grounds in Imphal. Manipur PCC chief K Meghachandra, who termed the government's response "very unfortunate", said they have changed their venue to a private place at Khongjom in Thoubal district. AICC president Mallikarjun Kharghe will flag off the yatra which will cover 14 states and 85 districts.

The state government, citing the prevailing law and order situation, has allowed the flagging off of the yatra only with a limited number of participants. The number and names of the participants had to be provided in advance to "take all precautionary measures".

Meghachandra who, along with a team of party leaders, met chief minister N Biren Singh at his office complex-cum-bungalow here on Wednesday morning, said the CM informed them that his government could not give permission citing law and order situation.


Meanwhile, Assam Congress president Bhupen Borah said that the BJP-led government in Assam is also trying to block the yatra in Assam.

"In Jorhat, we have not been granted permission to use a field to park our containers. We have not been given RoRos to travel across Brahmaputra river to Majuli island," he said.

At a press conference at the AICC headquarters, Congress general secretaries Jairam Ramesh and KC Venugopal issued a pamphlet and launched a website on the yatra.

The yatra, which is scheduled to begin on January 14, will cover 6,713 km and the participants will travel on buses and foot. The yatra is being organised ahead of the 2024 general elections and will cover 110 districts, 100 Lok Sabha seats and 337 assembly segments in 66 days.