A rath-yaatra against corruption, to be launched from a Ram temple seems like a strategy associated with and perfected by the Bharatiya Janata Party.
But in Madhya Pradesh, the opposition Congress, desperate for another shot at power in the state, is all set to launch its own rath-yaatra to give the ruling BJP a taste of its own medicine.
Leader of opposition Ajay Singh will embark on a statewide “Jan-chetna rath yaatra” early next month to “expose the eight years of misrule by the BJP”.
Mr. Singh will start the yaatra from Orchha, the beautiful temple town of Bundelkhand, and cover all 50 districts of the state.
The yaatra will be launched from the famous Ram temple in Orchaa, whic holds a strategic position-both in terms of the Congress' obsession with the region, reflected in Rahul Gandhi's endorsement of the demand for a separate Bundelkhand state and also as a frontier, backward region with a substantial chunk of dalit, backward caste as well as upper caste population.
“The yaatra, which will cover more than 10,000 km, will expose the corruption, deteriorating law and order situation and the unchecked rule of the illegal mining mafia in the state,” says Mr. Singh.
The yaatra will also attack the government on issues like rising crimes against women, “commercialisation of corruption” and the “open protection given to criminals by BJP leaders”.
It will also show that the promises on which the BJP government came riding to power in the state-including good roads, regular power and water and loan waiver schemes for farmers-remain unfulfilled even after eight years of its rule.
