Kota (Rajasthan): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday briefly interacted with students who had gathered in large numbers in this coaching hub to welcome him as he resumed his Bharat Jodo Yatra.
Gandhi described the students as the "future of India" and exhorted those gathered to raise "Bharat Jodo" slogans.
Starting the 92nd day of his yatra by offering prayers at the Suryamukhi Hanuman Temple here at 6 am, Gandhi marched through the streets along with Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and former deputy Sachin Pilot.
After marching for around 2.5 km from Suryamukhi Hanuman temple, Gandhi reached Rajiv Gandhi Nagar, where he was welcomed by students of coaching institutes.
He climbed up a stage erected for him on the roadside and spoke briefly with the students, director of a prominent coaching institute, who was accompanying the students, said.
Besides students, party workers and locals were lined up on both sides of the road from Jagpura to airport, a stretch of around 12.5 km to welcome him
Gandhi was earlier scheduled to pay tributes at the statue of his father Rajiv Gandhi at the Rajiv Gandhi Nagar here.
He will march 24 km to reach the next yatra stop at Gudali in Bundi district, where the march is set to take a one-day break on Friday.
Rajasthan is the only Congress-ruled state where the yatra has entered and will cover about 500 km passing through Jhalawar, Kota, Bundi, Sawai Madhopur, Dausa and Alwar districts over 17 days before entering Haryana on December 21.
The yatra started from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu on September 7 and has so far covered the five southern states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Telangana, and then traversed through Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.
It will conclude in Jammu and Kashmir in early February 2023, covering 3,570 km in 150 days.
