Leaders at Yatra, workers spread out to rally support, Congress Srinagar headquarters waits for Rahul Gandhi
There is no buzz at the Congress headquarters in Srinagar. In fact, it is near desolate. Party leaders tell you that all of them are in Jammu, to participate in Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra, while the workers are “on the ground to carry the message” of harmony of the former Congress vice-president, and invite people to his Yatra, which will end with flag-hoisting in Srinagar on January 30.
On Srinagar’s Maulana Azad Road, the Congress’s state headquarters, there are less than a dozen workers and the party office in-charge, Mohammad Anwar Bhat. It is at this party office that Rahul will culminate his 3,000-plus-km Yatra with hoisting of the Tricolour.
A resident of Pulwama in South Kashmir, Bhat is arguably the only party leader in the Valley these days. “Everyone is out working for the Yatra,” says Bhat, surrounded by half-a-dozen workers, two of them women.
Congress’ religion dilemma turns a corner, all make way for ‘tapasvi’ Rahul Gandhi
Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra will conclude in a week in Srinagar. Apart from the political buzz and the many controversies the cross-country foot march has spawned over the last four-and-a-half months, what has not gone unnoticed is the Nehru-Gandhi family scion’s consistent engagement with Hindu religion. And not just temple visits.
Ever since the Congress’s rout in the Lok Sabha elections of 2014, the party has been racking its brain to find an antidote to the BJP’s Hindutva push and counter the perception that it is pro-Muslim, though it has been circumspect on its approach to engaging with Hinduism, regarding both how and how much. In 2018, Sonia Gandhi herself pointed out that the BJP had managed to convince people that the Congress was a “Muslim party”.
Since I wrote my last column on the Bharat Jodo Yatra in mid-November 2022, when Rahul Gandhi was walking in Maharashtra, he has covered many many more kilometres, covered the northern states where, contrary to what his opponents had predicted, he has drawn a good response. Since his 3560-km-long Bharat Jodo Yatra is scheduled to end January 30 in Srinagar, it’s time to assess its impact.
Rahul Gandhi has shown incredible stamina, a will to complete what he embarked on, instead of running abroad halfway—which he was known for. The Yatra also showed another side of the usually inaccessible Rahul—even his colleagues used to complain about his lack of accessibility—putting an arm around an old woman, embracing the young, hoisting a child on his shoulder and agreeing to take selfies with countless others and, above all, discuss live issues with groups on the way. Rahul, the reluctant politician, had receded. The response to him has made him the unchallenged leader of the Congress again. Neerja Chowdhury writes
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The Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra was suspended for the day on Friday after the Congress alleged a breach of security and mismanagement of the crowd by the Jammu and Kashmir administration.
In a brief statement to the press, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who began his yatra from Banihal in Jammu region, said he had to cancel his walk for the day because police arrangements by the J&K administration “unfortunately collapsed completely”. He said police personnel who were supposed to manage the crowd were nowhere to be seen.
The J&K Police, however, said there was no security lapse while pointing out that the organisers had not informed them about a large crowd joining the march from Banihal. Read more
In what may be interpreted as a setback to a national Opposition bid, the JD(U) has said it will not attend the concluding function of the Congress’s Bharat Jodo Yatra in Srinagar on January 30. All India Congress Committee president Mallikarjun Kharge had invited JD(U) national president Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh to attend the function. Read more
After the Congress suspended the Bharat Jodo Yatra for the rest of today alleging a security breach in Jammu and Kashmir, the Kashmir Zone police responded and said that organisers of the Yatra did not inform that a large gathering would join the march from the Banihal area.
In a series of tweets, the police said, 'Only authorised persons as identified by organisers & frisked crowd was allowed inside towards the route of Yatra. Organisers & managers of BJY did not intimate about large gathering from Banihal joining the Yatra, which thronged near the starting point'.
The police also said that it was not consulted before taking any decision on discountinuation of the Yatra after marching for one kilometer. 'Rest of yatra continued #peacefully. There was no security lapse at all. We will provide foolproof security,' it said.
National Conference leader Omar Abdullah, who joined the Bharat Jodo Yatra in Banihal said that he was witness to the lack of security for Rahul Gandhi, which subsequently lead to the Yatra being called for the rest of the day.
In a tweet, Abdullah said, "I’m witness to this. The outer ring of the cordon which was maintained by J&K police simply vanished within minutes of @RahulGandhi starting to walk. We had just crossed in to Kashmir from Jammu & were looking forward to the 11 KM walk but unfortunately it had to be cancelled".
As Rahul Gandhi enters the Kashmir Valley on the last leg of his 3,570-km Bharat Jodo Yatra, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has been at the forefront, welcoming the march, with its workers told to actively participate in it. PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti even wrote an article in The Hindu, calling the Congress yatra the “first and genuine outreach to the people of J&K, who have been threatened into silence and submission”. Basharaat Masood writes
After the Bharat Jodo Yatra was suspended for the rest of Friday due to a lapse in security breach, Congress spokesperson Jairam Ramesh tweeted and said that by playing with Rahul Gandhi's security, the government displayed its 'lowest level'.
In a tweet, Ramesh said, "India has already lost Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, any government or administration should desist from doing politics on such matters."
After the Congress decided to suspend the Jammu and Kashmir leg of the Bharat Jodo Yatra for Friday, Rahul Gandhi said that it was important that the Police manage the crowd. "It's very difficult for me to go against what my security people are recommending," he said.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said that the Bharat Jodo Yatra will remain suspended for the rest of the day on Friday due to a 'serious' lapse in security in Jammu and Kashmir. "I had to cancel my walk today, unfortunately, police arrangement completely collapsed," he said.
The Bharat Jodo Yatra has been suspended for the rest of the day Friday as Congress alleges a lapse in security breach in Jammu and Kashmir’s Banihal.
The Bharat Jodo Yatra's aim is not to "improve" Rahul Gandhi's image but to change the prevailing atmosphere of the country, National Conference leader Omar Abdullah said Friday as he joined the Congress' Kanyakumari to Kashmir march passing through here. The former chief minister, however, sidestepped questions on the Congress' stand on the revocation of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir, saying he does not want to delve into it.
"We have joined this march not for the image of an individual but for the image of the country," Abdullah said. He claimed that Rahul Gandhi did not start the yatra for personal reasons but due to his concern over the "attempts of creating communal tensions and targeting minorities" in the country. (PTI)
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and the yatris participating in the Jammu and Kashmir leg of the Bharat Jodo Yatra were denied security cover in Banihal on Friday, several party leaders alleged. “The sudden withdrawal of security personnel from the D-area has caused a serious security breach at the Bharat Jodo Yatra at Banihal, Kashmir. Who ordered this?” tweeted party leader KC Venugopal. “The authorities responsible must answer for this lapse & take appropriate steps to prevent such incidents in future.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and the yatris participating in the Jammu and Kashmir leg of the Bharat Jodo Yatra were denied security cover in Banihal on Friday, several party leaders alleged. “The sudden withdrawal of security personnel from the D-area has caused a serious security breach at the Bharat Jodo Yatra at Banihal, Kashmir. Who ordered this?” tweeted party leader KC Venugopal. “The authorities responsible must answer for this lapse & take appropriate steps to prevent such incidents in future.
ongress leader Rahul Gandhi resumed his Bharat Jodo Yatra from Jammu and Kashmir's Banihal on Friday en route to the Valley.
Enthusiastic Congress workers and supporters carrying the tricolour turned up in large numbers to receive the Gandhi family scion. Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and National Conference vice president Omar Abdullah also joined Gandhi at Banihal. Donning a white T-shirt like Gandhi, Abdullah started walking with the Congress leader, along with hundreds of Congress party supporters.
"The Bharat Jodo Yatra is not aimed at improving the image of Rahul Gandhi but for improving the situation in the country," the NC leader told reporters upon his arrival in this highway town of Banihal, 120 km from Srinagar. Abdullah said he joined the yatra as he was more concerned about the image of the country. "We have not joined this for the image of an individual but for the image of the county," he said. Read more.
NC leader Omar Abdullah Friday joined the Bharat Jodo Yatra here, saying that the Rahul Gandhi-led march is not being carried out for the image makeover of the Congress leader, but rather to change the situation and atmosphere of the country.
The former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir said he does not want to delve into Congress' stand on the revocation of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir.
"The Bharat Jodo Yatra is not aimed at improving the image of Rahul Gandhi but for improving the situation in the country," the National Conference (NC) leader told reporters upon his arrival in this highway town, 120 kilometres from Srinagar. (PTI)
Attacking Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra, Tamil Nadu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief K Annamalai has said the Congress mass outreach programme lacks motive and vision.
In the ANI Podcast with Smita Prakash, Annamalai said, "Padyatra should have a larger perspective. It is just that you are upset with Modi ji and you started a yatra. It should have a motive."
He said Congress' Bharat Jodo Yatra is useless since it lacks a clear vision. The BJP leader said Rahul Gandhi himself had admitted that there is no atmosphere of hatred in the country, indicating that the yatra has no motive.
"Rahul ji in one of the statements in Delhi said he did not see hate after walking this many miles, then why did he start the yatra..," questioned Annamalai. On December 24, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi held a mega public rally outside Red Fort in the national capital.
Addressing the rally, Rahul Gandhi said, "In Bharat Jodo Yatra, dogs also came but no one harmed them. Cow, buffaloes, pigs, all animals came. All the people came. This Yatra is like our India, I have not seen any hatred or violence among people while walking 2,800 km, and I have not seen violence or hatred anywhere in the country. But when I turn on the TV, there is hatred all the time. 24 hours there is only Hindu-Muslim in media." (PTI)
Tamil Nadu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief K Annamalai took a swipe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who is leading Bharat Jodo Yatra, and said the Wayanad MP took 3,000 km to understand that there is no atmosphere of hatred in the country.
Attacking the Bharat Jodo Yatra, the BJP leader said Rahul Gandhi himself had admitted that there is no atmosphere of hatred in the country, indicating that the yatra has no motive.
"Rahul ji in one of the statements in Delhi said he did not see hate after walking this many miles. Then why did he start the yatra? It took him 3,000 kilometres to realise that..," Annamalai said in the ANI Podcast with Smita Prakash.
Annamalai said Congress' mass outreach programme is useless since it lacks a clear vision. "Padyatra should have a larger perspective. It is just that you are upset with Modi ji and you started a yatra. It should have a motive," the Tamil Nadu BJP chief said. On December 24, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi held a mega public rally outside Red Fort in the national capital. (PTI)
The Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra has set off for the day from Banihal in Jammu. They will enter the Kashmir valley today.
The Yatra will depart from Banihal at 9 am today, Take a look at the full schedule:
The Bharat Jodo Yatra led by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is set to resume from Banihal in Jammu and Kashmir on Friday after a day’s break due to Republic Day celebrations. The yatra is set to enter the Kashmir valley today for its last leg before culminating in a rally in Srinagar on January 30. According to Congress general secretary, communications, Jairam Ramesh, the yatra has passed through various districts of Jammu and covered almost 90 kilometres.
The afternoon leg of today's Bharat Jodo Yatra has been canceled due to rain and landslides in the area. The yatra will resume on Friday after a day's break.
Traffic on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway was suspended Wednesday morning after heavy rains triggered shooting of stones at a few places in Ramban district that left a truck driver dead and two others injured, officials said.
Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra is scheduled to reach the highway township of Banihal from Ramban district headquarters during the day.
An official of the traffic department said the shooting stones from the hillocks overlooking the highway, the only all-weather road linking Kashmir with rest of the country, at a couple of places between Ramban and Banihal forced suspension of traffic. (PTI)
Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra resumed from Jammu’s Ramban district Wednesday morning. The yatra, which will take a break tomorrow, will pass through Banihal, and halt at the Lamber truck parking yard at night.
At a press conference in Delhi on New Year’s Eve, Rahul Gandhi targeted the Central government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi over Chinese incursions at the border. But apart from hurling the oft-repeated accusation of China having occupied Indian territory and the government mishandling the issue, he emphasised and elaborated on one point.
Gandhi’s elaboration was politically interesting since the ruling BJP had been accusing him and the Congress of insulting the forces and questioning their bravery and valour — both in the context of China after the Galwan clash, and Pakistan after the 2016 surgical strike and the 2019 Balakot air raid. Read the Political Pulse by Manoj C G
Janata Dal (Secular) chief and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda has lauded Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for “fighting hatred and violence” while conveying his inability to attend the January 30 concluding event of the Bharat Jodo Yatra in Srinagar.
In a letter to AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge, Deve Gowda said, “I may not be able to attend the function in person, but my best wishes are with Shri Rahul Gandhi. He is fighting hatred and violence, and has walked from Kanyakumari to Kashmir spreading the message of harmony among people. Please convey my deep appreciation to him.” Read more
Alleging that the BJP has created a wedge between the two regions of Jammu and Kashmir, senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said his party wants early restoration of statehood and assembly polls in the Union territory.
He said the Congress' position on Article 370 is the same as was declared by the Congress working committee after the constitutional provision was revoked by the BJP-led government in August 2019. "The Kashmiri Pandits told me that the BJP was using them as a political weapon and forcibly sending them to Kashmir where they face the threat of targeted killings. They said whatever good had happened to them was done during the Manmohan Singh-led UPA government," he said.
"We love all of you and respect you, and feel that J&K is going through a difficult phase. BJP has created a wedge which is harming both (Kashmir and Jammu regions) and this gap needs to be bridged. We want to open lakhs of shops selling love in J&K," Gandhi added. (PTI)
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said his Bharat Jodo Yatra has achieved success in 'changing the narrative' in the country and brought crores of people together to denounce hatred and spread the message of love.
"The yatra has achieved something fundamental, very powerful and what the yatra has done cannot be changed. It has shown that there are two visions of India, one is hate-filled, arrogant and cowardly and another is love-filled, embracing and brave. It (yatra) has made these two visions absolutely crystal clear," Gandhi told a press conference in Jammu.
"Millions of people have walked in support of this yatra, which has changed the narrative in the country. The fundamental fact is that the yatra has been successful and brought India together and shown Indian people believe much more in love and affection", Gandhi said. (PTI)
Snubbed by his party leader Rahul Gandhi and panned by the BJP for questioning surgical strikes, senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh swung into damage control mode on Tuesday and said his questions were to the government and not the armed forces.
"I have held our armed forces in highest esteem. Two of my sisters were married to naval officers.... There is no question of my asking questions to defence officials. My questions are to the Modi government," he said on Twitter, hours after Gandhi rebuffed him calling his statement "ridiculous". (PTI)
HAVING flirted with controversy for years now, dragging his party into tight situations, senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh has never faced a snub as public as this. Reacting to Digvijaya’s statement doubting the cross-border surgical strike into Pakistan by the Modi government following the attack in Uri, Jammu and Kashmir, Rahul Gandhi said Tuesday that the senior leader had said “a ridiculous” thing.
Addressing a press conference in Jammu, Rahul said: “We think a conversation is very, very important. Sometimes, of course, there are people in every conversation who will say ridiculous things. And in this case, I am sorry to have to say this about a senior leader, he said a ridiculous thing.”
The Congress perhaps was left with no choice, if it didn’t want the rest of the few days of its Bharat Jodo Yatra, that is passing through J&K, to be caught up in dousing the fires of Digvijaya’s statement. Particularly with the BJP looking for precisely such an opening to attack the Congress over its nationalist credentials. Manoj C G writes
Amid a row over the controversial BBC documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the 2002 Gujarat riots, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said any kind of ban, oppression and frightening people are not going to stop the truth from coming out.
The government on Friday had directed social media platforms Twitter and YouTube to block links to the documentary titled “India: The Modi Question”.
Asked about the issue at a press conference during the Bharat Jodo Yatra, Gandhi said, “If you read our scriptures, if you read Bhagavad Gita or you read the Upanishads, you will see in it, it is written that the truth cannot be hidden. The truth always comes out.” “So, you can ban, you can suppress the press, you can control the institutions, you can use CBI, ED all the stuff, but, the truth is the truth. Read more
Senior retired military officers have taken to Twitter to condemn the statement of senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh questioning the veracity of the surgical strikes carried out against Pakistan in 2016 in retaliation for the terrorist attacks in India.
Former chief of the Indian Army General (retd) V P Malik and Air Marshal (retd) Raghunath Nambiar were among those who have rubbished Singh’s statement. Both have joined scores of other ex-servicemen of all ranks to deride what they said was an attempt to cast a shadow of doubt over the surgical strikes in the wake of the Uri and Pulwama terror attacks. Read more
Why did Rahul Gandhi take so long to publicly declare his respect for the armed forces, the BJP asked on Tuesday, slamming the former Congress chief for dismissing Digvijaya Singh's controversial comments on surgical strikes as his 'personal opinion'. It also asked the Congress to make its stand clear on the issues of terrorism and national security.
BJP leader and former Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the Congress has a habit of projecting uncomfortable views of its leaders as their personal views and asked if there is any limit to such opinion. 'The question is what is the standard of these leaders when it comes to respecting our armed forces. Indians do not seek proof of their heroics but salute them,' Prasad said.
Prasad said that Digvijaya Singh has a history of taking controversial stands, be it visiting families of suspected terrorists killed in the Batla House encounter or praising radical Islamic preacher Zakir Naik.
Attacking Gandhi for his 'vacillating' stand on armed forces, Prasad cited some of his previous remarks, including a recent comment in Dausa during the Bharat Jodo Yatra questioning the government's handling of the border standoff with China and claim that the Chinese were 'beating up' Indian soldiers. (PTI)
Thousands of crores of rupees have been pumped in by the BJP and the RSS systematically to distort my image but the truth always comes out, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said Tuesday on him being derisively referred to as 'Pappu' on social media.
The Congress will teach the BJP that truth works in this country and not money, power and arrogance, Gandhi said as his 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' continues in its final leg. He was speaking to reporters in Jammu before starting his journey towards the Valley.
"Thousands of crores have been spent to distort my image. This was done systematically by the BJP and its leaders. Thousands of crores can't hide the truth and you have witnessed it. The truth always comes out," the 52-year-old said when asked if the Congress was spending crores of rupees to counter his 'Pappu' image. (PTI)
Taking a jibe at Jammu and Kashmir's former CM Ghulam Nabi Azad, Rahul Gandhi Tuesday said 90 percent of the members of Ghulam Nabi Azad's party is now in Congress.
Azad, who is also a Padma Bhushan recipient, currently leads the Democratic Progressive Azad Party.
The evening leg of Bharat Jodo Yatra resumed from Rehambal, Udhampur district.
The march started from near the army garrison at Nagrota in Jammu district.around 8 am amid tight security.
The Shiv Sena Dogra Front staged a protest here on Tuesday against Congress leader Digvijaya Singh's remarks on surgical strikes and the Pulwama terror attack.
Scores of SSDF activists led by its chairman Ashok Gupta gathered in the Rani Park area of the city and raised slogans against Singh and the Congress. They demanded Singh's apology and that the Congress expel him from the party for his remarks.
They also sought to know Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's stand on the matter. (PTI)
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday claimed “the DNA of Congress is pro-Pakistan,” a day after Congress leader Digvijaya Singh questioned the surgical strikes and accused the Centre of peddling lies. Further targeting the Congress, Chouhan said they are committing the 'sin' of lowering the morale of the armed forces
Addressing a public meeting during the Bharat Jodo Yatra in Jammu and Kashmir on Monday, former Madhya Pradesh CM Digvijaya Singh questioned the surgical strikes.
The Rajya Sabha member also alleged that the Centre did not agree to the Central Reserve Police Force's (CRPF) request of flying its personnel from Srinagar to Delhi and 40 soldiers sacrificed their lives in Pulwama in 2019 to a terror attack.
As his comments stoked a major political row, the Congress distanced itself from them, saying they are 'his own' and do not reflect the party's position. (PTI)
In a press conference on Tuesday, Rahul Gandhi was asked as to why Chaudhary Lal Singh was not invited to be on the stage and why Ghulam Nabi Azad’s DAP was not invited to be part of the Bharat Jodo Yatra. “Lal Singhji supported the Yatra. And we appreciate his sentiments. Those from Ghulam Nabi’s party were sitting with us on the stage. Ninety percent of them are already in the Congress. Now, I think there is only Ghulam Nabi Azadji on that side… My respects to Ghulam Nabiji. And I apologise for any hurt that we may have caused to either Lal Singhji or Ghulam Nabi Azadji. We are nice people,” Gandhi said.
Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi Tuesday termed as “ridiculous” party veteran Digvijaya Singh’s remarks questioning the surgical strikes conducted in 2016 on terror camps across the LoC in Pakistan. He said he completely disagreed with Singh’s remarks.
“I don’t agree with what Digvijaya Singh has said. We completely trust our Army. The Army doesn’t need to furnish proof if it does something. I personally completely disagreed with what he had said,” Gandhi told a press conference in Jammu.
Asked why action was not taken against Singh, who has in the past too left the party red-faced with his remarks, Gandhi said the Congress was a democratic party and not a dictatorship. (Read More)
On the BBC documentary controversy, Rahul Gandhi said, "If you read our scriptures, if you read the Bhagavad Gita or the Upanishads..you will see that it is written in it that the truth cannot be hidden. The truth always comes out. So you can ban, you can suppress the press, you can control the institutions, you can use the CBI, ED..all this stuff…but the truth is the truth. Truth shines bright. It has a nasty habit of coming out. So no amount of banning, oppression and frightening people is going to stop the truth from coming out.”
Last week, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) directed YouTube and Twitter to take down links sharing the BBC documentary ‘India: The Modi Question.’ The order was passed under the emergency provisions of the Information Technology Rules, 2021, for allegedly casting “aspersions on the authority and credibility of the Supreme Court of India, sowing divisions among various communities, and making unsubstantiated allegations regarding actions of foreign governments in India”.
In response to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh's comments on Sunday, Rahul Gandhi said, "How is a padyatra that is uniting the people of India harming the interest of the nation,"
Speaking in an event in Madhya Pradesh, Rajnath Singh had criticised Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra and said that "India is being defamed by those who say that there is hatred in the country."
"I ask Rahul Gandhi who is holding Bharat Jodo Yatra in the country & saying there is hatred in the country, who is giving birth to hatred in the country? India is being defamed by saying there is hatred in the country. What has happened to you Rahul ji?" he said.
Addressing a press conference this afternoon, Rahul Gandhi said, "As far as Rajnath Singh’s statements are concerned I don’t understand how a padyatra that is uniting the people of India harming the interest of the nation. I can see how the hatred and violence that Mr Singh’s party is inflicting upon the country defaming the nation. If you look at the newspapers abroad, they are all asking what has happened to India’s traditional values. The defamation is being done by the BJP and RSS ideology."
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said that the Bharat Jodo Yatra has changd the narrative within the country and that comments made by any leader does not change the fact that the Yatra has been a success. "The Yatra has achieved something fundamental. It has shown that there are two visions of India - one is hate-filled and angry and the other one is love-filled and affectionate. Millions of people have walked across breadth of country and Yatra has changed the narrative of the country," he said.
"What Digvijay Singh has said I don’t agree with that, when the army does something we don’t ask for evidence, the Congress party also holds the same opinion," said Rahul Gandhi, in a press conference on Tuesday, regarding Digvijay Singh's surgical strike remark.
(Photos: Twitter/@INCIndia)
A 65-member strong Ladakh delegation led by Ladakh Territorial Congress President Nawang Rigzin Jora joined Gandhi at the start of the yatra, on Tuesday morning. We briefed him about the issues and concerns of the people, one of the delegation members said.
Noted author Perumal Murugan and J&K Pradesh Congress committee president Vikar Rasool Wani, his predecessor G A Mir and former minister Abdul Hamid Karra joined the Bharat Jodo Yatra in Jammu this morning.
The yatra, which started from Kanyakumari on September 7, entered Jammu and Kashmir from Punjab on Thursday and reached Jammu city on Monday.
The march is scheduled to make two night halts at Ramban and Banihal along the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway before its culmination in Srinagar with a grand rally at the Sher-e-Kashmir Cricket Stadium on January 30. (PTI)
ammu and Kashmir BJP president Ravinder Raina on Monday accused the Congress of being a "group of traitors" after opposition leader Digvijaya Singh questioned the 2019 surgical strikes on terror camps by Indian armed forces across the border.
He said the Congress should be ashamed by seeking proof of the surgical strikes carried out by the IAF in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in response to the Pulwama terror attack.
"The Congress has once again stabbed Bharat Mata in the back. By questioning the surgical strikes, the party has humiliated our brave Army and Indian Air Force (IAF) personnel who carried out the strikes in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and Pakistan and destroyed terror camps," Raina said.
Addressing a public meeting during the Bharat Jodo Yatra in Jammu and Kashmir, Congress leader Digvijaya Singh alleged that the government did not agree to the CRPF request of flying its personnel from Srinagar to Delhi and 40 soldiers sacrificed their lives in Pulwama in 2019 to a terror attack.
"They talk of surgical strikes. They claim to have killed so many people but no proof is given. They are ruling by peddling a bundle of lies," Singh, a former Madhya Pradesh chief minister who has often courted controversy with his comments, said. (PTI)
Alleging that Kashmir Pandits are facing injustice at the hands of the government, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday asked Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha to apologise to the community for telling the prime minister's package employees that they should not seek alms.
Gandhi made the statement shortly after a Kashmiri Pandit delegation called on him during his Bharat Jodo Yatra in Samba district earlier in the day and briefed him about their various issues including "targeted killings" by terrorists and the resultant protest by those employed under the prime minister's package.
"Injustice is being meted to Kashmir Pandits by this government...this morning, a delegation of Kashmiri Pandits met me and briefed me about their issues. I was surprised to know that their delegation was told by the lieutenant governor that they should not seek alms," Gandhi told a gathering at the end of the day's yatra at Satwari here.
Gandhi said he wants to tell the lieutenant governor that they are not demanding alms but are seeking their rights. "You (LG) should seek forgiveness from them (Pandits)," he said.
Earlier, social activist Amit Koul, who was part of the delegation, said they have invited Gandhi to their Jagti township along the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway and that he is likely to visit the community on his way to Kashmir.
"We had a very good interaction with Gandhi and we briefed him about the issues of the community, especially the prime minister's package employees who were provided jobs by the previous UPA government led by Manmohan Singh. They are on protest over the past six months in Jammu and their salaries have been withheld," Koul told PTI after meeting Gandhi. (PTI)
Not for the first time, veteran Congress leader Digvijaya Singh has put his party in a spot of bother by raising doubts about the 2016 surgical strike and drawing a backlash from the BJP that said the Opposition party was blinded by its “hate” for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and had “insulted” armed forces.
Addressing a rally in Jammu during the ongoing Bharat Jodo Yatra on Monday, the former Madhya Pradesh chief minister said the BJP-led Union government talks about the surgical strike conducted across the LoC but has not furnished any proof to back its claim. “They talk about the surgical strike. That we killed so many people. But there is no proof. Keval jhoot ka pulinda se yah raj kar rahe hain (They are peddling a bundle of lies),” he said. (Read More)
Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi will hoist the national flag at party headquarters in Srinagar at the culmination of ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ on January 30, with all Pradesh Congress Committee offices following suit in solidarity with the Yatra.
Congress General Secretary K C Venugopal said the Bharat Jodo Yatra, which started in Kanyakumari on September 7, will conclude on January 30 in Srinagar after having covered 3,970 km, 12 states and two Union territories. (Read More)
Not often is Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who is currently in Jammu and Kashmir leading the Bharat Jodo Yatra, asked about his marriage plans, but when he was during a recent interview, he was well prepared with his answer.
During a candid chat with YouTuber Kamiya Jani of Curly Tales, the senior Congress leader said that he will get married when the right girl comes along and that his checklist just includes “ a loving person who is intelligent”. “When the right girl comes along, I’ll get married. I think that my bar is very high when it comes to marriages as my parents had a really lovely marriage,” he added.
Discussing about his food habits, the Congress leader said that he was not a fussy eater but does not like to eat “kathal” (jackfruit) and “matar” (peas). (Read More)
Rahul Gandhi, who is in the last leg of his Bharat Jodo Yatra, recently revealed that when at home, neither does he eat rice nor roti. “When I am at home, I am pretty strict. So, I am careful. I don’t eat all sorts of stuff. I don’t eat carbohydrates — no rice, no roti,” he said, adding that if given a choice, and forced to eat, “I would eat roti probably”.
The Gandhi scion also opened up about the daily menu at home. “Normally in our house, we have desi khaana at lunch and some sort of continental stuff at dinner. I am quite particular. I have a controlled diet. So, mine is pretty boring. I try to avoid too many sweet things,” he said in a conversation with food and travel portal Curly Tales at a campsite in a village in Rajasthan.
Rahul, who uses moveable trucks that turn into air-conditioned bedrooms to move from one city to another, said, “As part of the yatra, I eat everything when outdoors.” (Read More)
'I have got the greatest regard for the Defence Forces,' Congress leader Digvijaya Singh was quoted saying by news agency ANI, on Tueday. He had accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government at the Centre of “spreading lies” about surgical strikes by the Indian armed forces in Jammu and Kashmir, in a rally at Jammu’s Satwari Chowk the day before. His comments stoked a major political row, as the BJP hit out at the Congress party and said that the opposition party was blinded by its “hate” for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and has “insulted” the armed forces.