Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Monday thanked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for inviting him to participate in the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ and wished it a success.
In a letter addressed to Rahul Gandhi, Akhilesh said, “Thanks for the invitation to the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ and wishes for the success of the ‘Bharat Jodo’ initiative.”
“India is a feeling which is beyond geographical expansion, where there is love, non-violence, emotions, co-operation and bonhomie — the positive elements, which unite India.
“Hope that this yatra achieves its aim of conserving this inclusive culture,” he added.
While Yadav, in his letter, neither rejected nor accepted the invitation to Congress’s nationwide yatra that will enter Uttar Pradesh on January 3, SP spokesperson said no party leader will participate in the yatra, reported PTI.
“Akhilesh will not participate in the yatra and there is nil possibility of any other leader of the party going there,” Samajwadi Party chief spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary told PTI.
This comes days after Akhilesh Yadav said he had not received an invitation to take part in the yatra.
The Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra will enter U.P. from the Loni border in Ghaziabad on January 3 afternoon and will halt for the night in Mavikala village in Baghpat. It will pass through Shamli on January 4 and enter Haryana through Sanauli in Panipat on January 5 evening.
On Saturday, Rahul Gandhi said at a press conference, “The Samajwadi Party (SP) does not have a national framework. The SP has a positioning in Uttar Pradesh which they have to defend and for that Akhilesh Yadav may not come to the Bharat Jodo Yatra. But the ideals of Samajwadi Party will not work in Kerala, Karnataka and Bihar. The Congress work is to provide a national framework to the opposition.”
Responding to Gandhi’s remark, Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday said his party’s outlook is national and it has been making strong political interventions in the national interest.
“It is always determined to keep the sovereignty, unity and integrity of the country intact. That’s why the Samajwadi Party has been making strong political interventions in the national interest keeping a keen eye on developments in the country,” he said.
(With PTI inputs)
