Angul (Odisha) [India], January 14 (ANI): While reacting to Congress leader Jairam Ramesh's statement that the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra is an ideological battle mounted against the politics of polarisation and social, economic and political injustice, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Sunday said that the 'tukde-tukde' (breaking into factions) gang is staging a drama of uniting the country.

"What is their ideology? The 'tukde-tukde' gang are staging a drama of uniting the country," Dharmendra Pradhan said speaking to ANI on Sunday in Odisha's Angul hours before the launch of the Yatra.

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Referring to the upcoming Pran Pratishtha event at the Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir, the senior BJP leader said, "The country is now 'Ram-may', the ideology of Ram is prevalent today and the country has a new awakening. Some people cannot tolerate this progress. So they indulge in this useless politics."

"The country's people have given them an answer in the last two elections and they will do so this time as well," he added.

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Meanwhile, BJP spokesperson Nalin Kohli said that terms like "Bharat Jodo Nyay" which the Congress uses for Rahul Gandhi's political campaigns have no meaning as the party has no intention of implementing them.

"These words that the Congress party uses for Rahul Gandhi's political campaigns...they have no meaning. The Congress party has no intention to implement them," Kohli said speaking to ANI on Sunday in Guwahati.

Kohli said that if one compares the state of the northeast under the Congress regime with the nine-10 years under the Narendra Modi government, one can note the increased number of visits made by the Prime Minister and other Union Ministers to the northeast.

"Compare the Northeast only, that's where Rahul Gandhi is starting his yatra from, Manipur. Compare the last 60 years with that of PM Modi's nine or ten years. How many times did the Congress UPA government or its prime minister ever visit the Northeast? PM Modi has come here in the last nine years over 60 times. More than 400 visits by the ministers of PM Modi's government," the BJP spokesperson pointed out.

"Internet, highways, airports and railways are at a pace never seen before. Airports have increased from 9 to 17, second railway station opened in Nagaland after a hundred years. The Congress party was sleeping," Kohli added.

The BJP leader said that under Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the term "Look East" was coined which was transformed into "Act East" under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whereas the Congress has neither looked nor acted for the north-east.

"Basically, under Atal ji's government, the BJP had said 'look east'. PM Narendra Modi has made it into 'act east'. The Congress party never looked at the Northeast, they never acted for the Northeast. For them, these are only marketing words for Rahul Gandhi's rebranding, yatra, political things," Kohli said.

"The fact of the matter is in 2024, the people of the North East will give a response to the Congress party what they think about the sort of words that they keep coining about," he added.

The 'Bharat Jodo Nyaya Yatra' is scheduled to start on Sunday with a floral tribute at the Khongjom War Memorial, followed by its launch at Myay Maidan, Khongjom in Manipur's Thoubai. Rahul Gandhi will cover over 6,700 kilometres over 67 days, going through 110 districts throughout the Yatra. (ANI)

(The above story is verified and authored by ANI staff, ANI is South Asia's leading multimedia news agency with over 100 bureaus in India, South Asia and across the globe. ANI brings the latest news on Politics and Current Affairs in India & around the World, Sports, Health, Fitness, Entertainment, & News. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)