The Manipur government has greenlit the upcoming Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra from Imphal ‘with limited number of participants’. The development came mere hours after Congress leaders said Chief Minister N Biren Singh had declined permission for their initial venue.
“Only flagging off of the Yatra with limited number of participants is hereby allowed on January 14 to prevent any untoward incident and disturbance in law and order. The number and name of the participants shall be provided in advance to this office to enable this office to take up all necessary precautionary measures,” said the order issued by the office of the Imphal East district magistrate.
The approval came approximately eight days after the Congress had sought permission to flag the yatra off from the Hapta Kangjeibung ground. The Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra is scheduled to start from Imphal on January 14 and cover a distance of 6,713 kilometres across 12 states. The march — led once again by Congress MP Rahul Gandhi — will culminate in Mumbai on March 20 or 21.
Congress leaders had earlier said that they were looking for alternative venues after their initial request was denied by CM Singh. Party leaders however insist that the Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra will start from Manipur ‘at any cost’.
“Bharat Jodo Yatra will start from Manipur at any cost. We are going ahead with the programme…We don’t want to politicise this Yatra. We don’t want to make any issues on Manipur also,” Congress general secretary KC Venugopal said on Wednesday.
“The prevailing law and order situation in the state is very critical. Giving permission to Rahul Gandhi’s rally is under active consideration, we are taking reports from various security agencies. After receiving the reports, we will take a concrete decision,” the Chief Minister had said earlier.
(With inputs from agencies)
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Published: 11 Jan 2024, 04:35 AM IST