Akhilesh Yadav, Mayawati, Jayant Chaudhary skip Bharat Jodo Yatra in UP

A day after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra entered Uttar Pradesh, none of the prominent opposition leaders joined the Yatra on Wednesday.

The Yatra was pulling big crowds, but despite invitations none of the opposition leaders have joined the Yatra so far.

The western UP was the epicentre and driving force of the farm agitation. But farmer leaders have skipped the Yatra. Neither Rakesh Tikait nor any representative of the farmers' union have joined the Yatra.

The Congress leaders, however, are saying that the Yatra has managed to pull a massive crowd and it was spreading the message of unity.

The Congress had invited Akhilesh Yadav, Mayawati and Jayant Chaudhary of the RLD to join the Yatra. All the leaders have given their good wishes to Rahul Gandhi, but have not joined him.

The Bharat Jodo Yatra entered Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday, AICC General Secretary in-charge of UP, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, welcomed the Yatra at the Loni border and called his elder brother Rahul Gandhi a 'warrior'.

Addressing the Yatra, Priyanka Gandhi said, "I'm proud of my elder brother. People are raising questions about his security, but God will keep him safe as he is fighting for the country and is on the path of truth."

She said that as the Yatra moves towards Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir, people should remember that unity is key to development.

"The BJP spent crores of rupees to tarnish his (Rahul Gandhi's) image, but nobody can buy my brother," she said.

The Yatra will culminate in Srinagar on January 30 with the hoisting of the national flag.

--IANS

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