Bharat Jodo Yatra has faced scrutiny over participation of several individuals later linked to arrests, FIRs & major criminal controversies
By June 27, 2026, Rahul Gandhi marked two years as Leader of the Opposition, a tenure defined by a persistent strategy of weaponising rhetoric against the state. Throughout this period, he routinely used his platform to level baseless accusations against the government, consistently claiming it was undermining democracy, the Constitution, and constitutional institutions in a calculated bid to undermine the credibility of Bharat’s democratic mandates. This report documents 15 instances where participants in Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra were subsequently tied to arrests, FIRs, criminal investigations, or significant public controversies.
The heavily publicised Bharat Jodo Yatra was launched by Rahul Gandhi on September 7, 2022, with the foot march officially commencing the next day on September 8, from Kanyakumari. The event saw the Congress leadership spend a disproportionate 18 days traversing Kerala from September 11, followed by another lengthy 21-day leg in Karnataka starting September 30. Designed as a massive public relations exercise, the march dragged on for roughly 145 days, covering about 3,570 km across the country before finally concluding on January 30, 2023, in Kashmir.
During the Tamil Nadu leg of the Bharat Jodo Yatra in Kanyakumari in September 2022, Christian pastor George Ponnaiah met with Rahul Gandhi. A major public controversy erupted when Ponnaiah was recorded telling Gandhi that “Jesus is the real God… not like Shakti.” This interaction drew sharp criticism from BJP leaders, who highlighted Ponnaiah’s July 2021 arrest in a hate speech case involving alleged anti-Hindu and anti-Bharat Mata remarks, slamming the Congress party for the association. The Congress dismissed the backlash as a politically motivated smear campaign.
In November 2022, Piyush Babele, the head of the Madhya Pradesh Congress Media Department, faced legal action after participating in the Bharat Jodo Yatra in Khandwa, Madhya Pradesh. The Bhopal Crime Branch registered an FIR against Babele and the party’s IT head following a complaint by BJP leaders. The political controversy stemmed from a video shared from the yatra’s social media handle that allegedly contained “Pakistan Zindabad” slogans, leading to charges under IPC Sections 153B, 504, 505, and 120B.
Abhay Tiwari, the Madhya Pradesh Congress IT Head, was named in a criminal investigation alongside Piyush Babele in November 2022 during the yatra’s passage through Khandwa. The Bhopal Crime Branch filed an FIR under multiple sections, including IPC 153B, 504, 505(1), 505(2), and 120B, after BJP leaders alleged that a video uploaded to the state Congress social media account featured “Pakistan Zindabad” slogans. The controversial video was subsequently deleted from the official handle.
Congress MLA Mamman Khan, who had previously participated in the Bharat Jodo Yatra, was arrested by the Haryana Police on September 14, 2023. The arrest was tied to the deadly communal clashes that erupted in Nuh on July 31, 2023. Authorities registered a case against Khan under multiple legal sections, alleging that he had triggered the unrest by publicly warning Hindu devotees of consequences if they organised a yatra and invited Monu Manesar.
Namdeo Das Tyagi, a self-styled godman widely known as Computer Baba, joined Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra during its Indore leg in November 2022. His participation drew scrutiny due to his prior arrest in November 2020. During that previous incident, Tyagi had been booked for allegedly manhandling a panchayat staff member during an administrative drive and was accused of illegally encroaching upon 40,000 square feet of government land valued at approximately Rs 13 crore.
In October 2022, Congress worker Akshay Kumar was arrested by the police during the Karnataka segment of the Bharat Jodo Yatra. Kumar faced law enforcement action after he openly carried a placard and a flag featuring a “PayCM” QR code. The display was part of an aggressive, high-profile political protest campaign designed by the Congress party to target the ruling BJP state government over corruption allegations.
Former JNUSU President and Congress leader Kanhaiya Kumar joined the Bharat Jodo Yatra as a prominent full-time participant from its launch day on September 7, 2022, in Kanyakumari. Kumar’s involvement was heavily discussed due to his high-profile arrest on February 9, 2016, by the Delhi Police. He had been booked in connection with the controversial JNU campus event involving allegations of anti-national slogan-shouting before being released on bail.
DMK MP and Deputy General Secretary Kanimozhi Karunanidhi joined Rahul Gandhi for the Bharat Jodo Yatra in Faridabad, Haryana, on December 23, 2022. Her presence connected the yatra to past legal controversies, as she had been arrested by the CBI on May 20, 2011, during the UPA government’s tenure over a suspected Rs200 crore bribe linked to Kalaignar TV in the 2G spectrum case. She was granted bail in late 2011 and ultimately acquitted by a Special CBI Court in 2017.
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut joined the final phase of the Bharat Jodo Yatra in Jammu in January 2023. His participation came shortly after a significant legal battle involving his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate on August 1, 2022. Raut had spent over three months in custody in connection with a money laundering investigation linked to the Patra Chawl redevelopment project before securing bail ahead of the march.
NCP MLA Jitendra Awhad joined the Bharat Jodo Yatra in Maharashtra in November 2022, shortly after being arrested by Thane’s Vartak Nagar Police. Awhad had faced an FIR and police detention for leading a group of supporters who forcibly disrupted a screening of the Marathi movie Har Har Mahadev at a local multiplex, an incident that included the alleged assault of a moviegoer. Awhad defended his actions by claiming the film distorted the history of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
Saurabh Pal, the Youth Congress Uttar Pradesh General Secretary, participated in the Bharat Jodo Yatra before being arrested by the Uttar Pradesh Police in Kasganj. Law enforcement officials revealed that Pal had four criminal cases registered against him and had been actively absconding since 2022. He was taken into custody on charges of robbing a woman and attempting to force physical relations with her, though he was later granted bail by a court.
Udaipur District Youth Congress President Himanshu Chaudhary joined the Bharat Jodo Yatra as a regional youth leader before facing a major criminal investigation. Chaudhary was later tracked down and arrested by the Jhunjhunu Police in Rajasthan for allegedly operating an illegal cricket betting racket during an IPL match. Police arrested six other individuals alongside him, seizing extensive betting logs, diaries, 27 mobile phones, and a laptop.
Rajasthan Police Sub-Inspector Naina Kanwal participated in the Bharat Jodo Yatra and actively promoted her involvement on social media. She was subsequently arrested by the Delhi Police during an unexpected raid targeted at locating a kidnapping suspect. During the search of her flat, authorities recovered two illegal pistols, resulting in criminal charges under the Arms Act and her immediate suspension from the Rajasthan Police force.
Congress leader Gopal Kesawat participated in the Rajasthan leg of the Bharat Jodo Yatra before becoming the prime target of a corruption probe. Kesawat was later arrested by the Rajasthan Anti-Corruption Bureau in connection with the Executive Officer recruitment scam. Investigation officials alleged that he was acting as an illegal middleman, demanding and accepting monetary bribes in exchange for falsely promising candidates assured jobs through the Rajasthan Public Service Commission.
NSUI Mumbai President Pradyum Yadav took part in the Bharat Jodo Yatra as a student wing leader before falling into legal trouble with the Mumbai Police. Yadav was arrested on November 27, 2023, following an incident during his birthday celebration on November 25, 2022. He faced criminal charges under the Arms Act after a video emerged showing him violating city-wide prohibitory orders by openly displaying weapons and cutting his birthday cake with a sword.
Ultimately, these 15 incidents raise serious questions about the vetting process and ideological alignment of the Bharat Jodo Yatra, casting a long shadow over its message of national unity. By providing a platform to individuals with histories of alleged hate speech, financial corruption, and national security controversies, alongside leaders who were subsequently arrested for inciting communal violence, illegal arms possession, and state-level recruitment scams, the march frequently appeared less like a unifying movement and more like a gathering ground for elements facing severe criminal and anti-social charges. For critics, the recurring presence of these controversial figures underscores a systemic failure within the Congress leadership to distance the party from individuals actively undermining law, order, and national integrity.
