The Congress on Tuesday said that it is yet to receive permission to begin the 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' from Manipur on January 14, with the state government informing it that the application has been sent to the Centre for "approval".

Addressing a press conference, AICC general secretary KC Venugopal said Manipur has been chosen to start the march to "heal the wounds" of its people who have been affected by the ethnic violence.

"The Congress's Manipur unit had applied to the chief secretary for the permission a week back. Today, they are telling us that they cannot give the sanction, and our application has gone to Delhi for approval," he said.

"Is it the duty of the central government to give approval to a political party meeting?" he questioned.

The Yatra, to be led by MP Rahul Gandhi, will commence from Imphal on January 14 and culminate on March 20 in Mumbai.

The Congress has applied to launch the march from Hatta Kangjeibung in the Imphal East district.

Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge is scheduled to flag off the programme in the presence of chief ministers of Congress-ruled states and top leaders of the party.

Venugopal, who also reviewed arrangements for the Assam leg of the programme scheduled from January 18 to 25, claimed that permission to hold a public meeting at a school in this state has also been cancelled.

"In a democratic system, every political party has the right to hold demonstrations. This Yatra is not even a political programme and is not connected to elections. It is to ask the government to give justice to the poor, the women and the youths of the nation," he maintained.

He claimed that the government's delay or denial of permissions is giving more publicity to the programme.

"Don't make unnecessary publicity for us. If you (the government) try to stop the Yatra, it will mean extra publicity for us," he said.

On choosing Manipur for the launch, Venugopal said the decision was not taken from any political point of view.

"We all know how much the people of Manipur have been affected by the violence. We need to heal the wounds of the people of Manipur. We don't want to politicise the issue but want to give the message that we are with them," he said.

Venugopal claimed that people from different walks of life have already expressed their willingness to join the programme.

"It will be the biggest platform to raise the issues of the people and what they deserve. In the 'Bharat Jodo Yatra', we raised the issue of love and affection against anger and hatred. This Yatra will focus on the issues of the common people," he said.

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