Srinagar (J&K): Speaking about Congress' stand on Jammu and Kashmir to a query posed by scribes, veteran Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said that restoration of the democratic process and statehood are utmost important. Ramesh, who is also the media in-charge of the Congress, was speaking to the media at the JKPCC office at Lal Chowk in Srinagar after participating in the concluding Kashmir leg of the Bharat Jodo Yatra from south Kashmir's Pulwama district on Saturday.
To a question whether the major opposition parties not turning up in Srinagar for the Bharat Jodo Yatra was a setback for the Congress, Ramesh said, “The function on January 30 (flag hoisting by Rahul Gandhi at Congress office in Srinagar) is not a coalition building exercise. It was a courtesy invitation to like-minded parties.
“There are other secondary issues that will be addressed once the statehood is restored,” he said. Over a question of whether Rahul Gandhi was eyeing the Prime Ministerial candidate in the 2024 Lok Sabha election, the Congress leader said that the party strives for the people's cause and does not bother about the results.
Speaking on the occasion, JKPCC President Vikar Rasool said that the Bharat Jodo Yatra received a warm response. “You saw on Friday how thousands of people turned up to welcome Rahul ji, but unfortunately, the yatra had to be suspended for the day due to a security lapse,” he said. The Yatra will continue on Saturday and Sunday with a march scheduled from Pantha Chowk in Srinagar to Nehru Park on the banks of Dal lake. Senior Congress leader and former JKPCC chief GA Mir said that Rahul was raising issues of inflation and unemployment which concern people across the country as well as the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
