Congress' Voter Adhikar Yatra Concludes in Patna

Patna, Sep 1 (PTI) — The Congress' 14-day, 1,300-km-long 'Voter Adhikar Yatra' is set to reach its conclusion in Bihar's capital, Patna, on Monday. A significant number of leaders from the INDIA bloc will join the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, in a grand procession marking the culmination of this political initiative, which has gained prominence ahead of the upcoming assembly elections in the state. Among those expected to take part in the 'Gandhi se Ambedkar' March are Congress National President Mallikarjun Kharge, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, CPI(ML) Liberation General Secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, CPI General Secretary D Raja, CPI(M) General Secretary M A Baby, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut, NCP Working President Supriya Sule, and TMC leaders Yusuf Pathan and Lalitesh Tripathi.

The impressive 'Gandhi se Ambedkar' procession will commence at 11:15 am from the historic Gandhi Maidan, where floral tributes will be paid at the statue of Mahatma Gandhi. The march will then proceed along S P Verma Road, Dak Bunglow Crossing, Kotwali Thana, Nehru Patha, and Income Tax Roundabout, finally reaching the statue of B R Ambedkar near Patna High Court. Senior opposition INDIA bloc leaders are expected to pay homage at the statue of B R Ambedkar before addressing a public gathering, as stated by Bihar Congress media department head Rajesh Rathod during a press briefing.

The city of Patna is adorned with posters of opposition parties, extending a warm welcome to leaders arriving from various parts of the country. The cityscape is embellished with colorful posters and banners featuring Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, as well as RJD supremo Lalu Prasad and party leader Tejashwi Yadav, among others, prominently displayed at key locations.

Congress leader Pawan Khera had earlier compared the yatra to a "religious pilgrimage involving participants from all faiths." He emphasized that although the yatra would culminate in Patna on September 1, it symbolized the beginning of a new journey aimed at safeguarding democracy. Launched by Rahul Gandhi from Sasaram on August 17, the yatra sought to draw attention to the alleged infringement of voters' rights through the special intensive revision of electoral rolls in Bihar. The march traversed over 110 assembly constituencies across 25 of the state's 38 districts.

Opposition parties have been vocal about their concerns, alleging that the removal of 65 lakh names from the draft electoral rolls, as part of the SIR, constituted a significant "assault" on citizens' voting rights. The Election Commission (EC) recently published the names of the 65 lakh individuals removed from the draft electoral rolls. This development followed the Supreme Court's directive for the EC to release the deleted names by August 19 and submit a compliance report by August 22.