'Bharat Jodo Yatra' a transformational moment in Indian politics: Sonia Gandhi

Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday described the 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' as a landmark occasion.

In her message read out at the rally in Kanyakumari, Sonia Gandhi said she would be participating in the yatra daily in thought and spirit.

"In view of the medical check-ups that I am undergoing, I regret my inability to be with all of you in person this momentous evening to launch the historic Bharat Jodo Yatra from Kanyakumari to Kashmir. This is a landmark occasion for our great party with such a glorious legacy – the Indian National Congress. I am confident that our organisation will be rejuvenated," she said in her message.

Sonia Gandhi also described the occasion as a "transformational moment in Indian politics".

She congratulated her 120-odd party colleagues who will complete the entire padayatra and said there will be hundreds and thousands of others who will join the march in different states.

"I extend my greetings to them as well," she said.

"Speaking for myself, I will be participating in the Bharat Jodo Yatra daily in thought and spirit. I will, of course, be seeing the yatra live as it progresses. So, let us move forward united and firm in our resolve," the Congress president said.

This padayatra is the longest ever undertaken by any political party in independent India.

The yatra has been launched from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday and will now move northwards, passing through Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Nilambur, Mysuru, Bellary, Raichur, Vikarabad, Nanded, Jalgaon, Indore, Kota, Dausa, Alwar, Bulandshahr, Delhi, Ambala, Pathankot and Jammu, before culminating in Srinagar.