Rahul Gandhi’s unity march gets rousing welcome in Hyderabad

Hyderabad: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra (Unite India Walk) entered Hyderabad city to a rousing reception on Tuesday morning as thousands of people including youngster and women joined him in the walk.

A smiling Rahul accompanied by a huge crowd of volunteers resumed his walk in the morning from Shamshabad on the outskirts of the city and spent the day walking through the streets of the city waving back at the people who lined the route.

An impressive martial arts show by school kids marked the beginning of the day as crowds continued to swell along the route.

Radhika Vemula, mother of Dalit student Rohit Vemula, joined Rahul in the morning leg of the march. Rohit, a PhD scholar of Hyderabad University had committed suicide in 2016 after alleged harassment by the university authorities. Rahul thanked Radhika for her support to his nationwide march which will take him from Kanyakumari to Kashmir.

Tweeting about his meeting Radhika, Rahul said, “I have got a new courage from her to go towards my goal of this journey and a new strength of mind”.

Rohit Vemula will remain a symbol of the struggle against social discrimination and injustice, Rahul added.

In the morning leg of the walk, Rahul walked through Aramgarh cross roads towards Bahadurpura. After the lunch break, during which he met people from different walks of life and interacted with them, Rahul walked through the streets of old city including Hussaini Alam to historic Charminar where he hoisted the national flag. It was to commemorate his late father Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s “Sadbhavna Yatra” in Hyderabad.

Rajiv Gandhi had started his Sadbhavna Yatra to restore communal peace in the city from Charminar on October 19, 1990 after a communal riot rocked the city.

The entire top leadership of Telangana Congress party including the state unit president A Revanth Reddy, Congress legislature party leader Bhatti Vikramarka and party coordinator for Telangana phase of the march Uttam Kumar Reddy accompanied Rahul.

Later, Rahul walked from Charminar to Necklace Road on the banks of Hussain Sagar lake where he garlanded the statue of his grandmother and former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. As his entourage passed through the busy areas of Patthargatti, Afzal Gunj, Moazzam Jahi Market, Nampally, Saifabad to reach Necklace Road, police imposed restrictions on traffic.

Rahul, whose march started from Kanyakumari on September 7, has evoked a massive response through the states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka.

The 150-day walkathon covering 3,570 kms is expected to conclude in Jammu and Kashmir in February next year.

After Hyderabad his yatra will pass through the districts of Medchal, Kama Reddy, Nizamabad and enter Maharashtra.

In Telangana, the march will cover a total distance of 375 kms in 19 Assembly and 7 Parliamentary constituencies in the state.