Congress criticises BJP’s ‘Jan Ashirwad Yatra’ set to begin on Sep 3

Bhopal: A day after the ruling BJP announced that it would launch as many as five ‘Jan Ashirwad Yatras’ in Madhya Pradesh, the Congress criticised the move, saying the “people will welcome yatras akin to 2018.”

Former Chief Minister and Madhya Pradesh Congress president Kamal Nath posted a message on social media, which read, “Before the assembly elections in 2018, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had taken out ‘Jan Ashirwad Yatra’, which was welcomed by the people of Madhya Pradesh by throwing stones. Instead of blessing, the public gave such a curse that the yatra had to be stopped in the middle of the way.”

The Congress leader further added that the Central leadership of the BJP has already divided yatra into five parts.

“In this way this Ashirwad Yatra has turned into tukde tukde yatra and the public will soon turn it into a ruined yatra instead of a blessed one.”

On Monday, senior BJP leader and Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar along with state unit party’s head V. D. Sharma announced that five ‘Jan Ashirwad Yatras’ would be launched from five different regions -- Vindhya, Mahakaushal, Gwalior-Chambal, Indore and Ujjain on different dates.

Sharma told the media that Union Home Minister Amit Shah will flag-off the first yatra from Chitrakoot (Satna district) of Vindhya region on September 3. He also said that the state party unit has also requested Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and BJP national president J. P. Nadda to participate in yatras. However, in a departure from the past where a single such yatra would be taken out with long-time Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan leading it, there would be five such yatras covering all the 230 Assembly segments.

“This time the BJP leadership has collectively decided that many a time, some Assembly segments would be left out during the election- campaigning. Because of one single yatra, it wasn’t possible to reach deep into all Assembly segments. This is why, the BJP leadership decided that there will be five yatras through which we would reach each and every Assembly constituency, and seek the blessings of the public,” said BJP State president V.D. Sharma.

Sharma said that the yatras would begin on different dates, and after traversing through the major regions over the next fortnight, each would culminate in Bhopal on September 21, the birth anniversary of BJP ideologue Deendayal Upadhyaya. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address a gathering of workers on the occasion, he said.