Bharat Jodo Yatra: Shivakumar likely to submit report on leaders who didn't cooperate

Karnataka Congress president D K Shivakumar is expected to give the party high command a report on leaders who did not keep up their end of the bargain during the 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' in the state.

Congress circles are abuzz with talk that Shivakumar is miffed with a section of party leaders who did not actively participate in the Rahul Gandhi-led foot march, whose Karnataka leg concluded on Sunday.

"I will get a report on who did how much work," Shivakumar told reporters at a news conference while underplaying speculation that he did not get enough cooperation from some party colleagues.

Also read: Did 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' serve any purpose other than Cong's classic 'divide & rule politics'? Sudhakar asks

"The yatra happened because everybody cooperated," he insisted. "It's just that the cooperation varied depending on one's capacity. Someone could get only 10 vehicles filled with people as opposed to someone who managed to get people in 300 vehicles. Similarly, some could walk just 10 km and some 50 km," he said, adding that responsibility on him was more since he is the party president.

According to sources, the 22-day 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' in Karnataka cost Rs 2 crore daily. "In some places, party leaders did not deliver on their task of mobilising people," a source said, adding that AICC general secretary in charge of Karnataka Randeep Singh Surjewala was aware of this.

Notably, on the last day of the 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' in Raichur, a booklet containing an essay penned by Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah on the significance of the march was released. This led to speculation that the former chief minister wanted to overshadow Shivakumar with respect to the march.

Photo exhibition

Shivakumar said the Congress would hold a photo exhibition in every district to showcase how the 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' took place in Karnataka. "There are countless photos. I'm forming a committee to select photos," he said.

Shivakumar will also constitute a committee under his working president R Dhruvanarayana to study the impact of the yatra in the state. "We want to include in our manifesto opinions that were expressed by citizens who met Rahul Gandhi during the yatra," he said.