Bharat Jodo Yatra continues in Maharashtra, Rahul interacts with locals

The Bharat Jodo Yatra led by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi resumed on Thursday morning in Maharashtra's Akola district after a night halt at a factory.

Gandhi waved at the crowd gathered on the route and interacted with locals.

He will address a press conference on Thursday afternoon.

It is the 71st day of the foot march, which began on September 7 from Kanniyakumari in Tamil Nadu, and the 11th day of its Maharashtra leg.

On Thursday, the yatra began at 6 am from Patur after a night halt at a ginning pressing factory.

It will proceed to Balapur in the evening and reach Shegaon in Buldhana district on Friday morning.

On Wednesday, Gandhi targeted the Centre and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), claiming their policies have destroyed the Indian economy and broken the back of farmers.

He said small and medium business enterprises, and not big industrial houses, generate large-scale employment, but they were at the receiving end of the Centre's 2016 note-ban exercise and the way Goods and Services Tax (GST) was implemented in 2017.

The Bharat Jodo Yatra, a mass contact initiative of the Congress, entered Maharashtra on November 7 in Nanded district.

Besides Nanded, it has so far covered Hingoli and Washim districts of the state.

The foot march will cover Akola and Buldhana districts of Maharashtra before proceeding to Madhya Pradesh on November 20.

The Nationalist Congress Party and Shiv Sena leaders, allies of the Congress in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), have participated in the yatra in Maharashtra.