Bharat Jodo Yatra continues in Maha, Rahul to address rally in Nanded

The Congress's Bharat Jodo Yatra continued on the fourth day of its Maharashtra leg on Thursday in Nanded district where Rahul Gandhi will address a public rally in the evening.

Gandhi resumed the foot march at 6 am from Kapshi Chowk in Loha area of Nanded where a large number of people gathered to greet him.

The former Congress president waved at the crowd, called members of the public near him and spoke to them while walking.

The yatra will cover Nanded city, Deglur and Ardhapur areas and proceed to Hingoli on Friday.

Gandhi along with the yatris walked a total of 24 km on Wednesday, concluding the day at Vajirgaon Phata and a corner meeting at Krishnoor.

He had accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of unleashing an "economic tsunami" by carrying out demonetisation in November 2016.

Referring to his encounters with locals on Wednesday, Gandhi said a young boy told him about the lack of practical education in the country due to which there are no job opportunities, while a little girl told him that her parents love her brother more than they love her.

Gandhi will address a public rally on Wednesday evening in Nanded where Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge will participate.

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leaders Supriya Sule, Jitendra Awhad and state unit president Jayant Patil are scheduled to join Gandhi on the way and will also attend the public rally.

Former Maharashtra minister and Shiv Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray will join the yatra on Friday.

This is the Bharat Jodo Yatra's 64th day after it started from Kanniyakumari in Tamil Nadu on September 7.

The yatra, a mass contact initiative of the Congress, will cover a distance of 3,750 km before concluding in Srinagar in January 2023.

The foot march entered Maharashtra on Monday night.

Addressing a meeting in Nanded on Wednesday night, Gandhi said projects like the Tata-Airbus military aircraft venture and Vendanta-Foxconn semiconductor plant were taken away from Maharashtra and given to Gujarat because of the Assembly elections in the neighbouring state.

"These projects will be given to two-three industrialists who are the prime minister's friends and the country's wealth is accumulating in their hands. Ports, infrastructure, telecom, agriculture sectors have been given to these people," Gandhi alleged.