New Delhi, Sep 7 (PTI) On the anniversary of the launch of the Bharat Jodo Yatra, the Congress on Thursday said the foot march was not just a physical endeavour but a sincere effort to "rebuild our broken collective conscience", with Rahul Gandhi asserting that the yatra will continue until hatred is eradicated and India is united.

Congress leaders and workers held padayatras in 722 districts across the country to mark the occasion.

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The opposition party also said that it was not an "Mann ki Baat" lecturing exercise for Gandhi but an opportunity to listen to "Janta ki Chinta" and the exercise would continue across the country.

Rahul Gandhi posted a video montage of the 4,000-km yatra from Kanyakumari to Kashmir in a post on X.

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"The crores of steps of Bharat Jodo Yatra towards unity and love have become the foundation of a better tomorrow for the country," he said in the post.

"The journey continues - till hatred is eradicated, till India unites. This is my promise!" the former Congress chief said.

During the course of the yatra, Gandhi addressed 12 public meetings, more than 100 street-corner meetings and 13 press conferences. He had more than 275 planned walking interactions and more than 100 sitting interactions.

On its first anniversary, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge described the yatra as a people's movement and said it continues to fight the menace of hate and hostility in society through a conversation.

"The Bharat Jodo Yatra is not just a physical endeavour, it is a sincere effort to rebuild our broken collective conscience. Our ingrained values of justice, liberty equality, and fraternity, for us, are supreme," Kharge said in a statement posted on X.

"The Congress party is continuously reaching out to people in an endeavour to reclaim our Constitution and protect our democracy," he said.

"The trend of manufacturing irrelevant headlines to divert attention from the real issues of people to hide the agenda of hate and division is a systemic attack on our collective conscience," Kharge said.

He asserted that the yatra "seeks to bring real issues of economic inequalities, price rise, unemployment, social injustices, subversion of Constitution, centralisation of power, to the centre stage of people's imagination".

The Bharat Jodo Yatra is "a people's movement, unequalled in history", Kharge said.

Describing the yatra as a transformative event in Indian politics, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said it focused on "rising economic inequalities, increasing social polarisation and deepening political authoritarianism".

In a post on X, he said today marks the first anniversary of the launch of the historic Kanyakumari-to-Kashmir Bharat Jodo Yatra, led by Rahul Gandhi.

"It (yatra) was not a Mann ki Baat lecturing exercise for Rahul Gandhi but an opportunity to listen to Janta ki Chinta (concerns of the people)," Ramesh said.

Ramesh said that "after paying tributes to his father at Sriperumbudur, Gandhi visited the Vivekananda Rock Memorial, Thiruvalluvar statue, the Kamaraj Memorial and Gandhi Mandapam in Kanyakumari".

"He then walked from the Gandhi Mandapam to address a large public rally in Kanyakumari by the Indian ocean, and the yatra commenced in the early hours of the next morning," the Congress general secretary recalled.

The yatra "continues in different forms as evidenced by Rahul Gandhi's meetings with students, truck drivers, farmers and farm workers, mechanics, vegetable traders, MSMEs across the country, and his presence in Manipur along with his extended week-long visit to Ladakh", Ramesh said.

As the yatra completes one year today, Kharge on behalf of the Indian National Congress, congratulated Rahul Gandhi, all Bharat Yatris and the lakhs of citizens who walked and joined in this historic endeavour.

From Kanyakumari to Kashmir, the Bharat Jodo Yatra covered more than 4,000 kilometres and carried a message of unity in diversity, with lakhs of people from all walks of life, the Congress chief said.

Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera said the yatra will continue till hatred is eradicated and India is united, asserting that the Bharat Jodo Yatra is an ongoing pilgrimage.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Thursday said that Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra "gave the country hope for a peaceful future" and "weaved a thread of love and unity."

Addressing a press conference to mark the first anniversary of the start of Bharat Jodo Yatra, Khera said it had left an indelible mark on the country and united the whole of India, besides inspiring millions of Indians.

He said that despite some forces conspiring and trying to sabotage it and also unsuccessfully trying to prevent the media from covering it, the yatra was a great success. He disclosed that he had learnt that in some foreign universities Ph.D research programmes were being planned on it.

Khera said there were forces which were feeling disturbed and uncomfortable with the idea of uniting India. He alleged they were now trying to put India against Bharat.

"How does it matter whether you call it ‘gold' or ‘sona', the value will always remain the same," he remarked while emphasising that India and Bharat were one and the same.

He said the Bharat Jodo Yatra is an ongoing pilgrimage into the heart of India as it was continuing, whether in Ladakh, Manipur, Azadpur or with the motorcycle mechanics or the common people on the streets. He was referring to Gandhi's visits to Ladakh, Manipur and Azadpur Mandi in Delhi to meet people.

To mark the occasion, the Indian Youth Congress (IYC) launched the Bharat Jodo leadership programme - an initiative to invite the youth who wish to actively participate in the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)