'Drop Bharat Jodo, go on Congress Jodo,' Rahul advised

Udupi: State Energy Minister V Sunil Kumar has ridiculed the Congress-sponsored Bharat Jodo Yatra. He said Congress was in a serious existential crisis and nothing could stop the further decay in the party composition. He said, "It is better that Rahul Gandhi takes up 'Congress Jodo Yatra' and drop the Bharat Jodo Yatra."

When asked if the BJP was afraid of the Bharat Jodo Yatra which is why the party was trolling the Yatra he said that at a time when Congress is facing an existential threat it should conduct a "Congress Jodo' yatra and drop the Bharath Jodo yatra. "A party that divided the country and caused partition of India and Pakistan does not have a moral right to conduct 'Bharath Jodo' yatra'' he said. He was speaking to reporters here on Saturday. As the Congress' yatra has begun in the South of India, the leaders of that party in North parts of India are deserting it. As Congress leaders proceed further towards the North, there may not be a Congress party. So the need of the hour is Congress Jodo for the leaders of that party, not Bharath Jodo, he said. Congress can cease the yatra for now and save itself from the threat of extinction, he added.

Regarding the Janaspandana convention of the state government, Sunil said that based on the response the "Janaspandana" convention received at Doddaballapur on Saturday, it will be extended to other parts of the state in the days to come. Further, the minister said that the celebration of the birth anniversaries of visionaries should not be limited to the particular community he or she belonged to, it should be celebrated by all castes and cohorts, he said.

Sunil Kumar said the state-level Narayana Guru Jayanthi was celebrated in Mangaluru instead of Bengaluru as the state government has the aim of decentralising such celebrations from Bengaluru. ''We wanted the celebration of birth anniversaries of visionaries to be happening in all other parts of the state, not just Bengaluru,'' he said as the decision drew a mixed response.

Regarding the flood mayhem in Bengaluru recently, Sunil said that it was an "extraordinary" excess of rain that Bengaluru witnessed after a century or two. People's suggestions will be weighed and implemented to tackle rain fury in future, he said. ''The government machinery responded quickly to bring back normalcy after the flood fury," he said.