Shah to flag off BJP's nationwide 'Gandhi Sankalp Yatra' on Wednesday

BJP president Amit Shah will flag off the party's nationwide "Gandhi Sankalp Yatra" on Wednesday, with its leaders, including Union ministers, scheduled to start the four-month drive from different parts of the country.

The party said Shah will address a meeting in Shalimar Bagh in the national capital before launching the yatra that aims to propagate ideals of the Father of the Nation, including cleanliness, simplicity, use of Khadi and non-violence.

Top party leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will visit Rajghat in the morning to pay homage to Gandhi at his memorial on his 150th birth anniversary, a landmark which, Modi had said, should be celebrated in a memorable manner.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, BJP working president J P Nadda and Union ministers Prakash Javadekar and Piyush Goyal will attend 'sankalp yatra' at different places in the national capital.

Many ministers will observe it in different states and Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan will undertake a foot march in Bhubaneswar in Odisha.

The party had earlier said that its 3,229 MPs, MLAs, other elected representatives and office-bearers will join the yatra.

All elected representatives were asked to undertake 'pad yatra' (foot march) for 15 days during the period.

A party leader said they will organise different events for a year to observe Gandhi's 150th birth anniversary year. The Sankalp Yatra is scheduled to end on January 30 which is Gandhi's death anniversary.

Shah had asked party leaders at a meeting to cover at least 2 km on foot on October 2 and make the area plastic-free.

Modi had asked the party MPs to undertake a 150 km 'padyatra' during the drive in their own constituencies.