North Bengal: Congress leaders start ground work for Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra

Congress leaders in North Bengal have started the ground work to make the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra – party leader Rahul Gandhi’s padyatra from Manipur to Mumbai – a success. The party is also counting on the march to revive support in North Bengal tea belt, an area where the Congress and its trade union front INTUC had a strong base for years. According to party insiders, Rahul will enter Bengal from Buxirhat, located on the interstate border with Assam, and pass through various areas of Cooch Behar district on January 26. “So far, we have learned that Rahul Gandhi will reach Bengal on January 26. He will pass through Cooch Behar and Alipurduar districts and stop at Falakata. The next day, he will leave for Jalpaiguri and Siliguri,” said veteran trade union leader and Alipurduar district Congress president Mani Kumar Darnal. Sources said that tents will be set up at the Town Club ground and other arrangements will be made for their stay in Falakata. On January 27, Rahul is scheduled to reach Kawakhali on the southern outskirts of Siliguri, where he will stay for the night. “We are planning to hold a public meeting in Kavakhali. The date will be decided when the time comes. This meeting is important because before Rahul Gandhi (from Siliguri) enters Bihar, we want him to send a message to the party supporters and the people of the region,” said a party functionary in Siliguri. Rahul will start his journey from Manipur on Sunday. Congress leaders said that since the Narendra Modi government came to power in 2014, it has done nothing for the tea workers. “Unlike the National Union of Plantation Workers (NUPW, affiliated with INTUC), the BJP and its trade unions did hardly any activity for workers’ rights,” said an INTUC leader.