Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and former Maharashtra minister Aaditya Thackeray during 'Bharat Jodo Yatra'.
The Congress today said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's two-day visit to four southern states is an “impact of Bharat Jodo Yatra” led by Rahul Gandhi, which has traversed through these states since its start in September and is currently in Maharashtra.
“But no antics can match the connect from walking with and listening to the people,” tweeted Congress communications in-charge Jairam Ramesh, referring to Rahul Gandhi's 3,500-km ‘Unite India March‘ from Kanyakumari to Kashmir.
He called PM Modi “camera-jeevi” — a play on the term “andolan-jeevi” (‘habitual protesters') that the PM had fashioned from ‘buddhijeevi', the Hindi word for ‘intellectual'. “There will undoubtedly be big photo-ops,” the tweet said.
PM Modi began his visit today from Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, and will visit Andhra Pradesh and Telangana too, attending several events and launch development projects.
PM Narendra Modi during a roadshow in Gandhigram, Tamil Nadu.
In Bengaluru, the PM unveiled a statue of Nadaprabhu Kempegowda, believed to be the city's founder, and inaugurated Terminal 2 of the international airport. In Tamil Nadu, he addressed the convocation ceremony of Gandhigram Rural Institute, speaking about handicrafts and Mahatma Gandhi's love for khadi.
Tamil Nadu is where Rahul Gandhi, along with other party leaders and workers, began his Yatra on September 7 — a shot at reviving the Congress's fortunes and setting up an ideology contest for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
The Yatra has covered parts of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, besides Kerala, and will be in Maharashtra for the next few days before entering Madhya Pradesh on November 20. The target is to reach Srinagar by mid-January.