Brijendra launches Sadbhav Yatra sans Cong state chief, CLP leader

Former MP and Congress leader Brijendra Singh launched his ‘Sadbhav Yatra’ from Danoda village in Jind amid murmurs of dissent among state party leaders regarding the event.

Brijendra’s father and former Union Minister Birender Singh, Congress MP from Rajasthan’s Churu Rahul Kaswan, Kaithal MLA Aditya Surjewala and other local Congress leaders were present on the occasion. Some Congress leaders, including Hisar MP Jai Prakash, described it as a personal yatra of Brijendra Singh.

The newly appointed state Congress president Rao Narender Singh and Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who is the Congress Legislative Party chief, stayed away from today’s event.

Brijendra Singh, who is the vice-chairman of the Congress’ Foreign Affairs Committee, stated that the yatra aims to promote harmony among all communities in the state. He accused the ruling BJP of fostering divisions in society for political gain.

“The BJP’s divisive politics have deepened caste, regional and communal discord in Haryana. The primary objective of the Sadbhav Yatra is to revive bhaichara (brotherhood) within Haryanvi society,” he said.

Brijendra said that there has been a strange silence in Haryana after 2024 Assembly poll because there was an “unexpected outcome” in it. “An idea of a yatra came up while thinking about the ways to emerge out of a kind of hopelessness. I decided to take the plunge and showed my keenness to carry out the ‘padyatra’ across the state. I am enthused with the response from various sections of society on the idea of this yatra,” he said, adding that there seemed to be kind of disquiet among people which was palpable in discussions in society.

Accusing the BJP of creating fault lines in society, he said that they were adopting the policy of ‘divide and rule’ while the Congress always has an approach of inclusion.

Responding to absence of some Congress leaders, Singh said that he has launched the yatra with the blessings of the party high command and added that the party leaders from Haryana and Centre would join the yatra later on.

He informed that on the first day, the yatra would pass through Sacha Khera, Badanpur, Sunderpura and Dharmgarh before halting for the night at Jat Dharamshala in Narwana.

On October 6, it would cover Belarkha, Uchana, Nepewala, Dhanori and Koyal. On October 7, the yatra will reach Kalayat in Kaithal district.

In the coming weeks, the yatra will cover 14 constituencies in its first phase. The second phase will commence from Nangal Chaudhary and continue for approximately seven months, he added.

Overall, the yatra will traverse all 90 constituencies across the state, covering 2,600 to 2,800 km over the course of 6-7 months. The first phase of the ‘padyatra’ will pass through 14 Assembly constituencies—Narwana, Kalayat, Safidon, Jind, Julana, Narnaund, Uchana, Uklana, Barwala, Bawani Khera, Nalwa, Hansi, and Hisar—and conclude at Adampur in Hisar district.