Will Bharat Jodo Yatra help revitalise Oppn?

Rahul Gandhi is on his Bharat Jodo Yatra from Kanyakumari to Kashmir. The ruling BJP and its parent organisation, the Sangh Parivar, seem to be uneasy and find it difficult to hide their discomfort at seeing Rahul marching on a path that eventually leads to Delhi. The trip undoubtedly has all the potential to create a better political atmosphere for Congress and give the required confidence to the entire Opposition.

This is indeed a departure from the tradition of the grand old party that it acquired after the independence of India. This was the culture of sitting in the air-conditioned rooms and running a system that was rotting day by day and becoming anti-people. This is perhaps the first time in the history of independent India that the Congress is out on the street and demanding changes in the way the country is being governed. This is really different from the short-term dharnas and demonstrations at Jantar Mantar.

The media, as usual, is expressing all its displeasure at the turn the Congress party has taken. It was more than happy with the plight of the main opposition party, which was crippled by internal dissent and dying slowly, only to make things easier for the Modi government to continue. The nervous media is questioning Rahul and the Congress in order to embarrass them.

A section of the media has even questioned the timing of such an exercise and contested the contention that the country is passing through a difficult phase. It is just citing tweaked data on unemployment and inflation and declaring that the Yatra is to save the Gandhi Parivar, not to solve the problems the country is facing. The media is also not ready to accept the claim of the Congress that it is trying to rebuild the harmony that has been lost during the rule of Prime Minister Modi.

How can the Indian media accept this claim when it is openly collaborating with the Sangh Parivar in generating communal passions?

The question is being asked how Rahul Gandhi will be able to revive himself and the Congress through this trip when he has failed in all his earlier attempts. This is denying the fact that the Congress wrested Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh from the BJP and gave a strong fight in Gujarat under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi. It has performed well in other states too.

Whatever the BJP's posturing, it is upset that the trip may unfold better possibilities for Rahul and the Congress. The media is trying to comfort the BJP by declaring that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is facing no challenge in 2024. The fear is finding its expression in events like the inauguration of Kartavya Path in Central Vista. The day was chosen to coincide with the commencement of the Bharat Jodo Yatra. The media also tried to distract the common people to running a debate in typical Hindu vs Muslim style over some decorations at the grave of Yakub Memon.

The timing of the Yatra is indeed important. The program has come at a time when most of the institutions have collapsed and the Modi government is attacking the opposition parties with all its might. It is unprecedented. The Prime Minister started it with the declaration that he would free the country from the Congress. Then came the declaration of BJP President JP Nadda that no regional party would survive. Starting from dismantling the Congress, the party has come to decimate regional parties. The Left has been their target since the days of Bhartiya Jana Sangh. It means, the BJP does not want any opposition party to survive, irrespective of its ideology.

How can democracy survive without opposition parties? The battle against opposition parties is not limited to rhetoric only. The government agencies, including the Income Tax Department, the Enforcement Directorate, and the CBI, are chasing only opposition leaders, and the chase has touched the level of contempt. There is also no communication left between the government and the opposition.

So, it must be appreciated that the Congress has gone back to its roots by opening communication with the people of the country. This is in real contrast to the one-way conversation of Prime Minister Modi.

This yatra is also important for some historical reasons. It has been three decades since the last national-level Yatra took place under the leadership of BJP leader LK Advani-the Rath Yatra from Somnath to Ayodhya in 1990.

The Yatra has travelled, in addition to Gujarat, Maharashtra and Telangana, most of the Hindi belt, and triggered riots along its route. Several hundred people have died in these riots. The Rath Yatra generated huge religious passion across India and the ultimate result was the demolition of the Babai Mosque at Ayodhya in 1992.

The completely divisive Rath Yatra of Advani played a crucial role in the emergence of the BJP as the contender for power at the center. Within a few months of Rath Yatra, the party became the second largest party after the Lok Sabha elections of 1991. Later, it also formed a government in Uttar Pradesh. It hardly took a decade for the BJP to come into power at the center.

If the Congress and other non-BJP political parties are to be taken to task, it should be for their failure to organize a national campaign against communalism during the last three decades of heightened communal divisions. It has pushed Muslims to the margins. The exercise is certainly delayed.

However, the organizers have taken care that the Bharat Jodo Yatra does not stick to the single issue of secularism. It has covered all the issues the country is currently facing, including inflation, unemployment, federalism, and the collapse of institutions.

(The author is a senior journalist. He has experience of working with leading newspapers and electronic media including Deccan Herald, Sunday Guardian, Navbharat Times and Dainik Bhaskar. He writes on politics, society, environment and economy)