Srinagar: Leader of Opposition and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday promised restoration of statehood to the Jammu and Kashmir and assured that the party will fight for restoring all rights for the people here.
Addressing an election rally in Srinagar in support of Congress candidate Tariq Hameed Karra, Rahul said "A state was downgraded into a UT for the first time in India's history. We want that the statehood should be restored as soon as possible. We demanded this before elections, but BJP didn't do anything. I guarantee you that the first pressure we will put on BJP is to restore statehood. If BJP fails, I promise that Congress will do it. This is your constitutional right," he said amid a thumping applause.
The rally, his first in Srinagar, ahead of the polling day on September 25, left the Congress workers and supporters enthused.
Elections in Srinagar will be held in the second phase on September 25, where its eight assembly seats are slated to vote.
ETV Bharat talked to several supporters who attended the rally and were enthused by Rahul's arrival to Srinagar.
"We are very happy that our leader Rahul Gandhi arrived in Srinagar. We are hopeful that our candidate Tariq Karra will get elected from the assembly segment," said a Congress worker.
Karra, who was nominated Jammu and Kashmir Congress Pradesh Congress Committee president, is contesting as NC-Congress candidate from Srinagar's Shalteng assembly which was renamed from Batmaloo.
He is set to contest against PDP, Apni Party and independents in the segment. However his main contender is Irfan Shah, an NC rebel, who is contesting as independent after he was denied ticket and the seat was given to Congress in the seat-sharing agreement.
The conspicuous absence of NC leaders, including Omar Abdullah and Farooq Abdullah, in Karra's rallies raised the speculations that NC might be secretly supporting Irfan Shah. But an NC worker in Rahul's rally said that many workers of the NC are supporting Karra as he is the alliance candidate.
The attendees in Rahul's rally said that BJP government brought miseries and misgovernance in Jammu and Kashmir in the last five years.
"We are sure that NC and Congress will form the government in Jammu and Kashmir and resolve the issues which the BJP government created here," the workers said.
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