The Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra entered Rajasthan on Sunday evening after completing its 12-day passage in Madhya Pradesh, during which it covered a distance of 380 kms.
The yatra, which had arrived in Madhya Pradesh on November 23, entered the neighbouring desert state by crossing a bridge over Chanvali river around 6.40 pm with Gandhi sitting in a vehicle.
Congress's MP unit chief Kamal Nath and other party leaders accompanied Gandhi as he entered Rajasthan, a state where the party-led government is in turmoil due to the acrimony between Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and his former deputy Sachin Pilot.
The final leg of the yatra in MP began at 3.30 pm on Sunday from Soyatkalan and ended after it reached Dongargaon in Agar Malwa district.
People lined the roads and fireworks went off to welcome Gandhi, who reciprocated by waving at them.
Addressing people at Dongargaon, Gandhi said walking was the best way to understand the problems of youth, farmers and labourers, and that is why he had embarked on the nationwide march (on September 7) from Kanyakumari (in Tamil Nadu).
Asserting that he did not feel any fatigue from the march, the former Congress president said, "When I went to Delhi for Diwali and was sleeping in my room, I was missing my container and told people around I wanted to go back to the container." "Even Nath was suffering from high fever in the morning and I told him to take rest, but he refused, took medicines to take part in the march and he is smiling now," Gandhi said.
Accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of spreading hatred and lies, Gandhi said they had decided to hit the roads as the government was not allowing them to raise their voice.
Earlier in the day, the yatra had resumed near Annapurna Dhaba in Lala Khedi village at 6 am. This is the 88th day of the yatra since it stared from Kanyakumari and the 12th day in MP.
Flanked by folk singer Prahlad Tippaniyaa and his group, who sang Kabir songs, and Congress MLA Jitu Patwari among others, Gandhi was seen walking briskly in the morning hours.
Lone Congess Lok Sabha MP from Chhindwara, Nakul Nath, former union minister Arun Yadav and Congress MLA and former minister Priyavrat Singh also accompanied Gandhi during the march.
Earlier, talking to reporters at Soyatkalan camp, Kamal Nath said the main aim of Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra is to save the Constitution and culture in the country.
The yatra had entered the Hindi-speaking belt for the first time and gained massive response from the people, Nath said, adding that it helped improve Gandhi's image among people, which had been distorted by the BJP through social media in the last eight years.
"The BJP used to say the march would end in Kerala, but the response and love has silenced those who keep chanting Modi-Modi," Nath claimed.
"Gandhi himself said his yatra got huge response in Madhya Pradesh, especially in Indore," Nath said, adding that the Congress leader interacted with farmers, small industrialists, shop owners, women, divyangjan (people with disabilities), weavers, tribals, Dalits and sanitation workers, among others.
Artists have gifted him his portraits made by them, poets, litterateurs, journalists, sports persons, film actors, social workers and intellectuals interacted with him during his Madhya Pradesh leg of the yatra, Nath added.
He expressed gratitude towards people, party-men and media for making the yatra successful in the state.
Incidentally, villagers distributed oranges to those participating in the march. The Agar-Malwa belt is known for its quality oranges.
Nath was scheduled to hand over the tricolour to his Rajasthan counterpart.
In Madhya Pradesh, the march passed through Burhanpur, Khandwa, Khargone, Indore, Ujjain and Agar Malwa districts, and Gandhi addressed rallies in Ujjain and Indore.
He also offered prayers at the famous Lord Mahakal temple, one of the 12 Jyotirlings in the country, in Ujjain. He also worshipped at Omkareshwar temple, another Jyotirling in Khandwa district.
