Rahul Gandhi is in Brussels and is expected to meet Members of the European Parliament; in Maharashtra, all eyes are on Maratha activist Manoj Jarange Patil who is on a hunger strike.
Exhibition of Bharat Jodo Yatra at IYC office on the occasion of the birthday of Rahul Gandhi, in New Delhi.on June 19, 2023. (Express file photo by Abhinav Saha)Listen to this article
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On this day exactly a year ago, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi started his 136-day, over 4,000-km journey from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu to Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir. The jury is out on what the Congress and Rahul managed to achieve and the effect it will have on the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. But as the Congress observes one year of the yatra today, it will be without its talisman who is currently in Europe.
First, this is what the Congress’s schedule looks like. The party plans to organise foot marches in 722 places across the country, with members of the Congress Working Committee, state Congress presidents, and Congress Legislature Party leaders instructed to participate in Bharat Jodo padayatras to recreate the central message of the yatra. Each of these small yatras will culminate in a Bharat Jodo rally in districts. Though there is no clarity about when the party will embark on the second nationwide yatra, sources said it could happen closer to the Lok Sabha elections, perhaps after the five state elections in November-December. This time it would be from west to east.
But Rahul won’t be there to mark the Yatra’s anniversary. The Congress leader is currently in the Belgian capital of Brussels and, according to sources, will hold consultations with Members of the European Parliament today, the first of his interactions during his five-day Europe tour. This will be followed by a dinner with some non-resident Indians.
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Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has a packed schedule in Jakarta, Indonesia, where he reached early morning India time to attend the ASEAN-India meet and East Asia Summit. Modi will leave for the venue of the ASEAN-India summit at 7 am IST. At 8.45 am IST, he will take part in the East Asia Summit. He will leave for New Delhi at 11.45 am IST and land here around 6.45 pm. The PM has a packed schedule in the run-up to the G-20 Summit that will be held over the weekend.
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In Maharashtra, all eyes will be on Maratha activist Manoj Jarange Pati who has said he will announce today if he will continue his hunger strike. The decision is likely to come around 11 am. On Wednesday, faced with the Maratha quota agitation gaining momentum, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde announced that those in the Maratha community possessing old documents from the Nizam era would receive Kunbi OBC (Other Backward Class) caste certificates. The government has constituted a five-member committee led by former Justice Sandeep Shinde to prepare the Standard Operating Procedure for issuing the certificates.
How the government’s decision plays out politically will be keenly tracked throughout the day. A lot will hinge on the decision of Patil, whose hunger strike has been the catalyst of the recent round of demonstrations. The Opposition has already said that it will not allow the dilution of the OBC quota, something senior Cabinet Minister Chhagan Bhujbal assured would not happen.
The West Bengal Assembly will hold a discussion today to decide on the state’s foundation day. On June 20, 1947, two meetings of separate sets of legislators of the Bengal Assembly were held. Those who wanted Bengal to be part of India voted in favour of the resolution by a majority. The other meeting was of legislators of areas that eventually became East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). Despite strong objections from Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, the Raj Bhavan observed the state’s foundation day on June 20. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) wants Poila Boisakh (Bengali New Year) to be celebrated as the foundation day.
— With PTI inputs
First published on: 07-09-2023 at 07:21 IST
