Elderly brave winter chill to take part in Bharat Jodo Yatra as it enters Delhi

I even forgot to wear my jacket, but who cares, I just wanted to meet him and came here at ITO, Farooqi said.For Uma Devi 80, a native of Bihar, it was a happy coincidence that she was in Delhi when the Yatra entered the capital.I came to Delhi to visit my daughter some days back.

Chaudhary Charan Singh, an 84-year-old resident of Uttar Pradesh's Dadri, braved the winter chill to join the Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra at Nizamuddin as the march entered the national capital on Saturday. ''I am a follower of Mahatma Gandhi and worship him twice a day. I will be going all the way to the Yatra's final destination at Red Fort. I came here along with others and will return home once it ends,'' he said.

Singh was among the many elderly people who took part in the Yatra that entered Delhi from Haryana and was accorded a warm welcome at the Badarpur border by party leaders and workers. Many among them forgot to carry their winter accessories in their excitement to meet Rahul Gandhi and were seen shivering in the bitter cold as Delhi logged a minimum temperature of 5.4 degrees Celsius, three notches below the season's average.

Bharat Jodo Yatra has already covered nearly 3,000 kms and will cover 12 states travelling a total of 3,570 kms before culminating in Jammu and Kashmir in January end.

MA Farooqi (75), who had come from Old Delhi, was so excited to meet the Congress leader that he forgot to wear his jacket. ''When I heard that Bharat Jodo Yatra has reached Delhi, I got very excited to meet Rahul Gandhi. I even forgot to wear my jacket, but who cares, I just wanted to meet him and came here at ITO,'' Farooqi said.

For Uma Devi (80), a native of Bihar, it was a happy coincidence that she was in Delhi when the Yatra entered the capital.

''I came to Delhi to visit my daughter some days back. Today, we found out that Rahul ji has reached Delhi, following which we decided to join the Yatra and came along with my daughter's neighbours. I am old but I have high spirits,'' she said.

Traffic was affected in parts of Delhi as the Yatra entered the capital.