In MP, Shivraj’s tribal yatra to counter Rahul’s Bharat Jodo

BHOPAL:  It was a battle of yatras in the tribal-dominated Nimar region of Madhya Pradesh on Wednesday. A few hours after Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra entered MP through the southwestern district of Burhanpur early in the morning, the ruling BJP rolled out its Janjatiya Gaurav Yatra from adjoining Khandwa district’s Baroda Ahir village, the birthplace of tribal icon Tantya Bheel.

Rahul’s yatra was slated to travel to Tantya’s village a day later, but the BJP not only started the tribal-centric yatra from the village a day before it but also held a programme attended by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. The CM rambled on about the positives of the recently implemented provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas --PESA) Act before the tribals.

The BJP’s Janjatiya Gaurav Yatra (Tribal Pride Yatra) will conclude on December 4 at Patalpani in Indore district, the place where Tantya Bheel attained martyrdom fighting against the imperial British. The same day, Rahul Gandhi’s yatra will enter Rajasthan after traversing through six districts of southwest and west MP.

While denying that the BJP yatra was planned to counter Rahul’s yatra, BJP MLA from Pandhana seat Ram Dangore said, “Unlike the Congress, we don’t embark on yatras keeping the polls in mind. Our yatra was planned well in advance.” However, sources in Khandwa district said the CM’s event was added to the BJP yatra later.

Addressing a gathering in his first public meeting  during the MP yatra, Rahul Gandhi recalled how despite being elected to power, the Congress government was dethroned in MP in March 2020 through corrupt means.“We wanted to raise our voices on three farm laws, demonetization and plight of farmers, youth and labourers. We also wanted to raise our voices on the flawed GST. But whenever we raised our voice in Parliament, our mike was switched off,” said Rahul.

“Even the Press (media) doesn’t take the voice of opposition parties to people, owing to the pressure of being remote-controlled. The judiciary too is under pressure,” said the Congress leader.