During the initial days of Bharat Jodo Yatra, there was a delicate situation when former head of Congress Rahul Gandhi faced severe knee problems which forced him to think of leaving the padayatra in the middle and looking for someone else to continue, said the AICC Secretary General, KC Venugopal, on Saturday.
He also said that the situation had even forced Priyanka Gandhi to tell him that her brother could take part in the national foot march due to severe grief and hand over the baton for the Bharat Jodo Yatra to top Congress leaders, according to the PTI news agency.
“His knee pain had worsened when the yatra entered Kerala on the third day of its inception from Kanyakumari. One night, he called me to tell me about the severity of his knee pain and suggested carrying out the campaign by replacing him with any other leader. said Venugopal, a close confidante of Rahul Gandhi.
“Then came Priyanka Gandhi’s call to report on the severity of Rahul’s knee pain. She even thought of suggesting handing over the campaign to other senior leaders,” he added.
The AICC General Secretary narrated the sequence of events he faced when the yatra started in Kanyakumari, during a function organized at the KPCC headquarters here on Saturday night to honor the Bharat Jodo Yatris of Kerala.
Recalling ‘anxious moments’ when he stood with folded hands and prayed for divine intervention, Venugopal said Rahul Gandhi was unimaginable to Congress workers and leaders, PTI reported.
However, his pain was later cured by the grace of God when a physiotherapist suggested by Rahul Gandhi joined his medical team and treated him, Venugopal told the meeting at the function also attended by senior party leaders including AK Antony.
The Bharat Jodo Yatra led by Rahul Gandhi entered Kerala on September 10 and traversed the state for 19 days. The yatra ended on January 30 in a show of force by the opposition with leaders of various parties joining Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to cap off his ambitious 145-day journey that covered some 4,000 kilometers from Kanyakumari to Kashmir.