Opposition leaders may join Yashwant Sinhas yatra in Gujarat

Leaders of various opposition parties are expected to participate in former BJP leader Yashwant Sinhas yatra to protest against CAA-NRC in its Gujarat leg, a prominent member of the outfit organising the event said on Wednesday.

The Rashtra Manch, the non-political outfit floated by Sinha, a former Union minister, has organised the Mumbai-Delhi 'Gandhi Shanti Yatra'.

The 3,000-km-long yatra will start from Mumbai's Apollo Bunder on January 9 and pass through Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana before culminating at Raj Ghat in Delhi on January 30.

Talking to reporters in Mumbai, Sinha said he is embarking on the yatra to seek repeal of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and a judicial probe by a sitting Supreme Court judge into "state-sponsored violence" like the one in Delhi's JNU.

We have contacted all the opposition parties and many leaders are likely to join the yatra in Gujarat, former BJP chief minister of Gujarat and state convenor of Rashtra Manch Suresh Mehta said here.

"We expect Congress leader Manish Tewari, TMC leader Dinesh Trivedi, retired diplomat K C Singh, ex-BJP minister Sompal Shastri and ex-BJP MP Shatrughan Sinha to join the yatra. Local leaders of the Congress, the AAP and the Samajwadi Party will also participate," Mehta said.

During the yatra, Sinha will address meetings in Ahmedabad and Surat, he said.

The yatra will enter Gujarat on Saturday and will be in the state for nine days, Mehta said.

It will cover major centres like Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot, Porbandar and Ahmedabad.

Mehta asked why the BJP government only wants to give citizenship to persecuted minorities of three neighbouring countries only and not to Hindus from Sri Lanka, Myanmar or any other country.

"This is a clear attempt to divide the country on the religious lines and polarise vote banks," Mehta alleged.