On Friday, Tamil Nadu MP and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’s (DMK) Deputy General Secretary Kanimozhi Karunanidhi joined the Bharat Jodo Yatra led by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in Haryana.
On the third and last day of its first phase, the yatra commenced on Friday from Kherli Lala in Sohna. Senior Congress officials from the state took part in the pedestrian march that entered from Rajasthan to Nuh in Haryana on Wednesday.
Among those who marched beside Rahul were former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, as well as senior politicians Randeep Singh Surjewala and Kumari Selja. DMK MP Kanimozhi joined Gandhi in Haryana’s Faridabad and said that she was happy to be part of the march that celebrates India’s diversity.
“I was delighted to take part in the Bharat Jodo Yatra, which celebrates our diversity, in Haryana today. Mr Rahul Gandhi’s vision of uniting India is an idea which will be taken forward by the people of India,” the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader wrote on Twitter. She also posted three pictures of her in the march with Gandhi.
I was delighted to take part in the Bharat Jodo Yatra, which celebrates our diversity, in Haryana today. Mr. @RahulGandhi‘s vision of uniting India, is an idea which will be taken forward by the people of India.
— Kanimozhi (கனிமொழி) (@KanimozhiDMK) December 23, 2022
(1/2) pic.twitter.com/YH0kV6y7yu
Notably, DMK MP Kanimozhi who is the daughter of DMK chief M Karunanidhi was arrested in the year 2011 leading to a strained alliance between the DMK and the Congress at that time. The MP was arrested in the 2G scandal and it was alleged that she had taken around Rs 200 crore in bribes in the case. Congress-led UPA-II government was in power at that time.
DMK and Congress were strong allies of each other until Kanimozhi got arrested in 2011 during the UPA government and the Congress party had restricted itself from doing enough to contain troubles for the DMK chief’s jailed daughter. Congress underplayed the arrest as it projected it as a purely legal matter. “We don’t think it is necessary for a political party to comment on the ongoing judicial proceedings involving merits of individual cases. All parties have legal rights and recourse. It is not for Congress to comment on the issue. You can rest assured that this being a legal matter there is no impact on the alliance which continues as before,” Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi was quoted saying then.
However, the troubles for DMK made the party more vulnerable in its dealings with Congress and the allies announced separation during the local body elections in Tamil Nadu around 2011. The DMK MP was charged with criminal conspiracy (Section 120-B), cheating (Section 420), and forgery (Sections 468 and 471), and was booked under the Prevention of Corruption Act. She was arrested by the CBI on 20 May 2011, granted bail on 28 November 2011 and was acquitted by the Special CBI Court in 2017.
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi’s Kanyakumari-to-Kashmir yatra, which began on September 7, has so far crossed Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan.
The pedestrian march, which will spend the night in Faridabad, is scheduled to enter Delhi on Saturday at the Badarpur border, near the Badarpur metro station. After a brief pause beginning Saturday night, it will restart on January 3 and travel to Uttar Pradesh, then to Haryana, then to Punjab, and ultimately to end the journey in Jammu and Kashmir.
