Lakhanpur (J&K): Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra entered Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday as part of its final destination amid tight security in the union territory. Gandhi was received at Lakhanpur by senior Congress leaders and National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah.
Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra enters Jammu and Kashmir Addressing a public meeting on his arrival, Rahul Gandhi said, “Today I have come home because my family is from Jammu and Kashmir. I understand the pain suffered by people here and I have come to share your grief.” He also said that Bharat Jodo Yatra is aimed at spreading love and compassion.
Welcoming him into the union territory, National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah drew a parallel between the Shankaracharya and Rahul Gandhi. "Many years ago, Shankaracharya had undertaken a yatra from Kanyakumari to Kashmir. And today you are doing it," the MP said at a rally here.
He said that today's India is not that of Ram's Bharat or Gandhi's Hindustan because people are divided on religion. "If we are together, we will be able to overcome the hatred of the present day," added the National Conference chief.
Even as the temperature after dusk fell, hundreds of people walked alongside the former Congress president. In a customary handover function, Punjab's Congress unit gave the party flag to a leader from the Jammu and Kashmir unit.
Gandhi, who started his yatra from Kanyakumari on September 7, 2022, will be covering a distance of 350 kilometres in the union territory. As per schedule, the yatra will culminate in Srinagar on January 30 with a public rally to be addressed by Rahul Gandhi at Sher-e-Kashmir Cricket Stadium.
The yatra is scheduled remain in the Jammu region for over a week. Currently, the Congress is facing a controversy regarding former minister Lal Singh's proposed participation in the yatra. Singh courted controversy after taking out a yatra in 2018 in support of the rapists in the gruesome rape and murder case in Rasana village in the Rajouri district that year.
