Rahul Gandhi, Kharge hoist national flag in Srinagar as Bharat Jodo Yatra concludes

The Congress has invited 21 non-NDA parties to join the culmination of the yatra on January 30.

New Delhi, Jan 30: Congress's mega 'Bharat Jodo Yatra', that traversed through 12 states and two Union territories, would officially conclude on Monday with a function at the state Congress headquarters in Srinagar followed by a rally at the Sher-e-Kashmir Stadium where other like-minded parties are expected to join in.

Donning a white T-shirt and a sleeveless jacket, the former Congress chief hoisted the flag at the camp site in Panthachowk to the tunes of the national anthem played to mark the culmination of the yatra, amid a fresh snowfall in the city.

In a brief address to the 'Bharat Yatris', Gandhi thanked them for their love, affection and support through the 136-day foot march, which began in Kanyakumari on September 7 last year.

The Gandhi siblings later joined Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and scores of other party leaders at the Pradesh Congress Committee office on the Maulana Azad Road where another flag hoisting ceremony was held. The national anthem was playing after this.

The local administration had made stringent security arrangements for the programme as Lal Chowk was off limits for vehicular traffic for the second consecutive day.

Thousands of office goers had to foot the distance of around a kilometre or more to reach their work places in Lal Chowk and the adjoining areas.

The Congress has invited 21 key non-NDA parties to join the culmination of the yatra. According to reports, all like-minded parties, including the Bharat Rashtriya Samithi (formerly TRS) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) have been invited to attend the march. Meanwhile, five political parties -AIADMK, BJD, YSRCP, AIMIM, and AIUDF - have not been invited.

On Sunday, Rahul Gandhi, who had been leading the Kanyakumari to Kashmir foot march, unfurled the national flag at the historic clock tower of Lal Chowk in Srinagar as the yatra entered its final day.

Meanwhile, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday asserted that the march gave an alternative vision to the country.

Speaking at a press conference after the march ended with the hoisting of the tricolour at the Lal Chowk here, Gandhi said he got to learn and understand a lot during the over 4,000-km journey.

The Bharat Jodo Yatra has been the most beautiful and profound experience of my life, Gandhi said, adding he would think about whether a west to east yatra can be undertaken in the future.

''I met lakhs of people and talked to them. I do not have words to make you understand. The aim of the yatra was to unite India, it was against the hate and violence being spread across the country. We have had a tremendous response. In fact, no one expected to get such a love-filled response,'' Gandhi said.

''We got to see the resilience of the people of India, their strength, directly,'' he asserted.

This is not the end but the beginning and a ''first step'', Gandhi said of the yatra.

He also thanked the media, saying it had played a very important part during the yatra. The yatra covered 4,080 km through 12 states and two Union territories. Rahul Gandhi addressed 12 public meetings, over 100 corner meetings, 13 press conferences. He had over 275 planned walking interactions and more than 100 sitting interactions.

Gandhi, along with his sister and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, party leaders and workers, completed the final lap of the yatra earlier this morning.