New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has abruptly ended his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Uttar Pradesh and left for his Lok Sabha constituency Wayanad on Saturday evening, as the region grapples with a spate of wild elephant attacks. Gandhi will resume his yatra from Prayagraj on Sunday afternoon, the party said. Gandhi’s decision to visit Wayanad came after a forest department eco-tourism guide, who was stationed at the popular Kuruva Island, succumbed to his injuries at the Kozhikode medical college on Friday. He was one of the victims of a wild elephant attack that took place on Friday morning.


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Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh announced Gandhi’s departure on X, saying that his presence was urgently required in Wayanad. He said that Gandhi would leave Varanasi at 5 pm and resume his yatra at 3 pm on February 18th at Prayagraj.


Hartal In Wayanad Over Man-Animal Conflict


Meanwhile, Wayanad witnessed a district-wide hartal on Saturday, called by the ruling LDF, opposition UDF and BJP, to demand permanent solutions to the man-animal conflict in the area. The hartal affected the normal life in the district, as shops and businesses remained shut and vehicles stayed off the roads.


Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, which aims to spread the message of justice and connect with the common people, entered Uttar Pradesh on Friday and will cover the state before moving to Rajasthan. Rajesh Tiwari, Congress secretary in charge of Uttar Pradesh, said that Gandhi would skip the Bhadohi leg of the yatra due to his Wayanad visit, but the yatra would go on.


He said that Gandhi would join the yatra again at Prayagraj on Sunday afternoon. The yatra, which started from Manipur, will traverse 6,700 km through 15 states and end in Mumbai.