Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is set to embark on a yatra connecting the northeastern and western parts of the country with an eye on next year’s national elections. Mr Gandhi will begin his ‘Bharat Nyay Yatra’ from January 14, a 6,200-km tour from Manipur to Mumbai.

The yatra, set to conclude on March 20 ahead of the elections, is dubbed as the second and East-West phase of his north-south Bharat Jodo Yatra last year that was credited by the party for its election victories in two southern states.

The BJP, however, took a jibe at the Congress announcement and said the people had rejected the idea of Bharat Jodo Yatra.

Mr Gandhi will cover 14 states and 85 districts during the ‘Bharat Nyay Yatra’, which will be flagged off by Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge in Imphal.

Manipur, Nagaland, Assam, Meghalaya, West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra will be among the states he will cover. This will include stretches of bus rides as well as footmarches.

The Nyay Yatra will be for securing economic, social and political justice for the people of the country, the Congress said.

On choosing violence-hit Manipur as the starting point, the Congress said the party wanted to begin the process of healing the wounds of people.

‘Duplicity In Approaches’

The BJP said the people cannot be fooled by coining some slogans.

“The people of India had clearly rejected the idea of Bharat Jodo Yatra because Rahul Gandhi and the Congress cannot have duplicity in these approaches. They think the people of India can be fooled by coining some slogans,” said BJP spokesperson Nalin Kohli.

The “real nyay (justice)” is being delivered by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government since 2014, he added.

Mr Gandhi had embarked on his Bharat Jodo Yatra in September last year from Kanyakumari. The five-month footmarch that saw the participation of thousands of Congress workers as well as Opposition leaders ended in Srinagar in January.

Congress leaders had widely credited the Bharat Jodo Yatra behind the party’s electoral performance in Karnataka and Telangana. The Congress had snatched power from the BJP in Karnataka and BRS in Telangana in elections held this year.

Amid the row in Jammu and Kashmir over the death of three civilians after they were detained by the Army for questioning, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh told soldiers that they should not “make any mistake” that hurts an Indian.

Mr Singh is in the Union Territory to review the security situation, days after an ambush on two Army vehicles left four soldiers dead. It was in the aftermath of the terror attack that several civilians in Poonch were detained by the Army for questioning. Three of them were later found dead. A Brigade Commander has been asked to join the Army’s probe into the deaths. The Army has said it has zero tolerance for violence against innocent civilians.

“You are the country’s protectors. But I want to request you that besides ensuring the country’s security, you also have the responsibility to win the hearts of the people. There should be no mistake that hurts an Indian,” he said.

The Defence Minister said the forces should share a close bond with the people. “We have to win battles, eliminate terrorists, but a bigger objective is to win the hearts of the people. We will win wars, but we need to win hearts too. And I know you try your best to do this,” he said.

Every soldier is like a family member to every India, he assured the troops.

“Every Indian feels this way. It is not tolerable to us if anyone casts an evil eye on you. Security and intelligence agencies play a crucial role in stopping such attacks. Whatever support is needed to step up surveillance will be provided by the government. The doors to our treasury are fully open,” he said.

The Defence Minister added that such attacks “should not be taken for granted”. “I know you all are alert, but I think more alertness is required. Your bravery makes us proud. Your sacrifice, your efforts have no parallel. And they are priceless. When a soldier dies a martyr, even if we pay some compensation, it cannot compensate for the loss. I want to assure you that the government is with you and your welfare and security are high on our priority list,” he said.

The Indian Army, he said, is now seen as more powerful and well-equipped than before.

Earlier today, the Defence Minister arrived in Jammu and left for Rajouri soon after.

Mr Singh is likely to meet local residents and families of the dead civilians. Around 3 pm, he is expected to chair a high-level security meeting at Raj Bhavan in Jammu.

Security has been stepped up across Jammu for the Defence Minister’s visit. Earlier, Army Chief General Manoj Pande visited the Union Territory to review the situation there.

The language row in Karnataka escalated sharply Wednesday after pro-Kannada groups held violent protests at various parts in state capital Benglauru, including the Kempegowda International Airport.

There are also protests outside a hotel; the video showed women and men, some in yellow and red scarfs (the colours of the Kannada flag) storming the courtyard and tearing down English signage.

One video showed a man attacking the English signboard of a salon and spa, as truckloads of men in red and yellow scarfs drive past. In another, men waving red and yellow flags protest outside an Airtel store; one man is defacing the sign by spraying black paint over the shop’s red signboard, which is in English.

The protesters were demanding the immediate implementation of an order by the city’s civic body, which directs all businesses to have 60 per cent of their signs in Kannada. The order followed a meeting with the Karnataka Rakshana Vedike, seen by some as a right-wing group pushing the language row.

Several of the protesters were later detained by the police.

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BBMP chief Tushar Giri Nath said commercial stores in the civic body’s jurisdiction had till February 28 to comply, failing which they could face legal action, including suspension of business licences.

The language row is back in focus after Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said in October “everyone living in this state should learn to speak Kannada”. “We are all Kannadigas. People speaking different languages have settled in here (and) everyone living in this state should learn to speak Kannada.”

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In his earlier tenure too Mr Siddaramaiah had pushed for the wider use of the local language, and it was in his previous tenure that Hindi names of Bengaluru metro stations were targeted and covered with tape.