Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and MP Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday extended their warm wishes to the countrymen on the occasion of 77th Independence Day. "Happy Independence Day to all of you," Kharge tweeted.

He said, "Democracy and Constitution are the soul of our country. We take this oath that we will uphold the freedom of democracy and Constitution for the unity and integrity of the country, for love and brotherhood, for harmony."

Leaders From 24-Political Parties Arrive In Bengaluru To Attend Oppn Meet
Leaders From 24-Political Parties Arrive In Bengaluru To Attend Oppn MeetIANS

Rahul Gandhi, who represents Kerala's Wayanad parliamentary constituency wrote on X, "Bharat Mata is the voice of every Indian. Happy Independence Day to all the countrymen."

On the occasion, he also shared a 2.57 minute video of his 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' from Tamil Nadu's Kanyakumari to Jammu and Kashmir.

Rahul Gandhi
New Delhi : Congress MP Rahul Gandhi in the Lok Sabha during the Monsoon session of Parliament, in New Delhi on Monday, August 07, 2023. The Lok Sabha membership of Rahul Gandhi was restored on Monday, three days after the Supreme Court had stayed his conviction in a defamation case. (Photo:IANS/Sansad TV Grab)IANS

"My beloved Bharat Mata was not a land. It wasn't a set of ideas. It wasn't a particular culture, history or religion. Neither was it the caste that people had been assigned. India was the voice of every single Indian, no matter how weak or strong. India was the happiness, the fear and the pain hidden deep inside all the voices," he said in the video.

Gandhi further said, "To hear India, my own voice - my desires - my ambitions had to fall silent. India would speak to one of her own, but only if one was humble and completely silent." The Congress had earlier said that the Bharat Jodo Yatra was one of its most decisive mass contact programmes.

(With inputs from IANS)