Aim of Bharat Jodo Yatra is to save liberal, secular ethos of India: Rahul Gandhi

Later he was joined by Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge in a rally which began from the Sher-e-Kashmir Cricket Stadium. The rally was also joined by representatives from Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), National Conference (NC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), CPI, Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) and IUML.

Gandhi who was seen wearing his trademark white T-shirt throughout the yatra, donned a ‘pheran’ to ward off Kashmir’s bone-freezing chill today. He had decided to wear only T-shirts during the padyatra after meeting three poor girls “shivering in torn clothes” in Madhya Pradesh.

The Congress leader had unfurled the national flag at Lal Chowk, in the heart of Srinagar, on Sunday, saying the “promise made to India” had been fulfilled. The padyatra which traversed through 12 states and 2 Union Territories in a span of nearly five months, saw the participation of multiple opposition party leaders and eminent personalities from various fields like DMK leader MK Stalin, Shiv Sena’s Aditya Thackeray, actor Swara Bhasker, former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan, author Harsh Mander, and activist Medha Patkar.

Speaking at a press conference on Sunday, Rahul Gandhi said that he learnt and understand a lot during the journey and asserted that the Yatra gave an alternative vision to the country.

“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,” he said.

Terming it as the most beautiful and profound experience of his life, Gandhi said he would also decide if a west to east yatra can be undertaken in the future.

“I have not done this (Yatra) for myself or for the Congress, but for the people of the country” says Rahul Gandhi

Post the rally, organised in Srinagar to mark the culmination of the Bharat Jodo Yatra, Gandhi said “the aim of his Bharat Jodo Yatra was to save the liberal and secular ethos of the country which, he claimed, was facing an assault from the BJP and the RSS.”

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said that the Bharat Jodo Yatra was “not for winning elections but to counter the hate spread by the BJP and the RSS in the country.” Addressing the rally amid heavy snowfall, he also stated that Gandhi was determined to restore Jammu and Kashmir statehood.

“My brother has been walking for the last five months from Kanyakumari. Earlier I also thought, it was a long journey whether people will come out. But they came out everywhere. They came out because people of the country have spirit for unity,” said Priyanka Gandhi, addressing the rally in Srinagar this afternoon.

What did the opposition party leaders say?

CPI leader D Raja urged all secular parties of the country to “unite and liberate the country from BJP Raj”. “We all fought together for the independence of the country and liberated the country from British Raj. All secular parties must come together to liberate the country from BJP Raj,” he said.

National Conference (NC) leader Omar Abdullah encouraged Rahul Gandhi to undertake another yatra from west to east of the country and said that he would like to walk with him for the same.

“On this last function of the yatra, I congratulate Gandhi on behalf of myself, my father and my party. This yatra has been successful. This yatra has shown that there are people in the country who like the BJP but there are also those who like the other idea which is of brotherhood,” he said.

RSP leader Premchandran declared his party’s solidarity with the Congress leader. “A historic movement was undertaken. Rahul Gandhi has proved that he is the right leader to fight against these divisive forces,” he said.

Jammu and Kashmir leg of the Yatra

The Kashmir leg of the Yatra saw Rahul Gandhi being joined by National Conference leaders Farooq and Omar Abdullah, and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti. “Rahul Gandhi’s yatra comes like a breath of fresh air in Kashmir. It is the first time since 2019 that Kashmiris have come out of their homes in such massive numbers. It was a great experience to walk with him,” said Mehbooba Mufti.

Gandhi on Saturday also paid floral tributes to the 40 CRPF personnel killed in a car bomb blast in J&K’s Pulwama district in 2019.

In a press conference later, Gandhi although spoke about the  restoration of statehood of Jammu and Kashmir, he remained noncommittal on restoration of Article 370. It was revoked by the Centre on August 5, 2019.

Gandhi said “the restoration of statehood and democratic process is a very important first step in Jammu and Kashmir, asserting that the security situation has not improved in the valley as claimed by the BJP.”

“If what they claim is the case, then why doesn’t the BJP hold a rally from Jammu to Lal Chowk? If the situation is so good, then why doesn’t Mr Amit Shah walk from Jammu to Kashmir? I don’t think that argument holds,” the former Congress chief said.

To a question on the promises made by Jawaharlal Nehru to the people of Kashmir, he said: “I am not happy with what I see in J&K. In fact, I have sadness when I walk through J&K. When I first entered Jammu, a strange idea came into my mind, which was that in some ways my family descended from J&K and went to Allahabad. And in some strange way, I was making the reverse journey that my ancestors made. So, I felt in a way that I was going home, and that was a very powerful feeling I had. I think I have affection towards the people of J&K and I come here with an open heart, with open arms to help in whatever way I can… I don’t want to go into commenting on the historical aspect of it…I want to look forward”.

Chinese aggression on the border

Rising the issue of Chinese aggression along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), Gandhi said that the government’s approach of “completely denying” that the Chinese have “taken our land” is extremely dangerous as it would give them the confidence to do even “more aggressive things”.

“I think the way to deal with these Chinese is to deal with them firmly and to be very clear that they are sitting on our land and it is not something we are going to tolerate… The Prime Minister of India is the only person in the country who is under the impression that the Chinese have not taken any land from India. I recently met some ex-army people, even a delegation from Ladakh, which clearly said that 2,000 sq kms of our Indian territory have been taken over by Chinese. They also said many patrolling points that used to be in Indian territory are now firmly in Chinese hands,” he said.

A West to East Yatra in the future?

In a press conference in Srinagar on Sunday, Rahul Gandhi asserted that although the Yatra went from South to North, it had a countrywide effect.

When asked whether he would undertake a west to east yatra in future, Gandhi said, “It has just ended. So, this question is premature. Yatris have walked thousands of kilometres, let us see what happens. Yatra went from south to north but its effect was on the entire country.” “It is a vision, a way of life for the country. This has had an effect in the entire country. Congress workers have also undertaken yatras in several states, so it has had a national effect. We will think about it (undertaking a west to east yatra), I have two-three ideas,” he said.

“This is not the end but the beginning and a first step,” he said, adding that the Congress yatris were keen on undertaking another yatra.