Facilities at campsites, containers 'basic'; BJP trying to 'defame' Yatra: Congress

The Congress on Friday said its Bharat Yatris were staying in containers which have very basic and minimal facilities and claimed that the BJP was trying to defame its Bharat Jodo Yatra as it was rattled by itThe Opposition party alleged that the BJP IT cell was spreading falsehoods about the facilities at its Yatra campsites and in containersCongress general secretary Jairam Ramesh also took a dig at the BJP saying this is not like the 1990 Rath Yatra a Toyota Yatra or an Innova Yatra ours is a PadyatraThe attack by the Opposition party came after it gave access to the media to its campsite in Nagercoil where the 60 containers were parkedAbout 230 people including 119 Bharat Yatris who will walk the full 3570 km from Kanyakumari to Kashmir will spend their nights in 60 containers mounted on trucks that will be moved daily from one place to anotherRahul Gandhi is staying in a onebed container that has a small sofa an air conditioner a small refrigerator and an attached toiletAlso Read Nanded to be first stop in Maharashtra for Rahul Gandhirsquos Bharat Jodo YatraA pictorial representation of one of Mahatma Gandhis marches with his quote Be the change that you wish to see in the world is also put up in the former Congress chiefs containerLeaders such as Congress general secretaries K C Venugopal Jairam Ramesh and Digvijaya Singh are staying in twobed containersThere are also fourbed sixbed eightbed and 12bed containers While some have attached toilets others do not Mobile toilets and showers mounted on trucks are also parked at the campsites The site visited by the media was Scott Christian College Nagercoil where the Yatris spent Thursday nightWe have 60 containers here These containers move from one site to another There is a onebed container which Mr Rahul Gandhi uses There is a twobed container which Mr Digvijaya Singh Mr K C Venugopal and I use there is a fourbed six bed eightbed and 12 bed containers Ramesh told reportersHe said his container has two bunks and is like a second AC train compartmentThere is an area for having meals at the campsite and a conference room container which can accommodate 10 people Ramesh saidHitting out at the BJP Ramesh said they only have propaganda to peddleThe allegations that have been made by the BJP IT cell with the encouragement of the prime minister Narendra Modi to defame the Bharat Jodo Yatra show that the BJP is rattled Ramesh saidThe BJP is making these allegations in its nervousness he claimedThey should come and see what the reality is We are not hiding anything there is complete transparency Look at the way we are staying it would take about 160 days to complete the Yatra he saidAlso Read Rahul Gandhi Congress leaders embark on Bharat Jodo Yatra from KanyakumariThis is very basic and very minimal Ramesh saidI wish both Amit Shah and Amit Malviya see these containers and then they will know what it is to live in a container This is not like the Rath Yatra It is not a Toyota Yatra or an Innova Yatra Ours is a Padyatra Ramesh saidThe containers are not Made in China he addedThe facilities are very basic It is like what you would expect while travelling in a second AC rail compartment he saidBy 8 AM these containers move to the next locations We need two acres to accommodate these containers We end up setting up camps in schools and colleges he saidHe said the camp sites are mostly for the 119 Bharat Yatris support staff and people managing the campsRamesh said the food for the Yatris is being managed by the partys state unitsOn the second day of the actual Padyatra which was launched at a rally on Wednesday Gandhi along with other Bharat Yatris and party leaders began walking from the Nagercoil school after a flag hoisting ceremony which the party has said would be a daily routineDay 2 of the padayatra started with flag hoisting at 7 am in Nagercoil Bharat Yatris were joined by 89yearold freedom fighter Kodikal Sheikh Abdullah He inspired everyone by highlighting the need to stand up unite and fight for the soul of our nation Ramesh said in a tweetRahul Gandhi along with several of his party colleagues embarked on the 3570km Bharat Jodo Yatra from here on ThursdayAmid sounds of drum beats a sea of tricolour and slogans of Bharat Jodo the march began from Vivekananda College Road Agasteeswaram here on ThursdayWalking briskly Gandhi along with several top Congress leaders covered 13 km in the morning session of the yatra on Thursday He walked about seven km in the evening when there was mass mobilisation and thousands walked along with the former Congress chiefThe march would cover 12 states and two Union Territories in about five monthsThe march is moving in two batches from 7 am to 1030 am and from 330 pm to 630 pm While the morning session includes fewer participants the evening session sees mass mobilisation The participants plan to walk around 2223 km dailyAbout 30 per cent of Bharat Yatris are women The average age of Bharat Yatris is 38 About 50000 citizens have also registered to participate in the YatraAfter reaching Kerala on September 11 the Yatra will traverse through the state for the next 19 days reaching Karnataka on October 1 It will be in Karnataka for 21 days before moving northIt will pass through Thiruvananthapuram Kochi Nilambur Mysuru Bellary Raichur Vikarabad Nanded Jalgaon Indore Kota Dausa Alwar Bulandshahr Delhi Ambala Pathankot Jammu and end in SrinagarThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever