Indian National Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has said he was warned that he might be attacked in Kashmir, but the people here did not give him hand grenades, but hearts full of love.
The 135-day long Bharat Jodo Yatra (BJY) concluded on Monday with a flag hoisting ceremony at the party headquarters in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) and a public rally at the Sher-e-Kashmir cricket stadium in the nearby Sonwar area of the city.
Despite the continuing snowfall senior local leaders, Dr. Farooq Abdullah of the National conference (NC) and Mehbooba Mufti of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) attended the rally.
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Congress general secretary, also addressed the rally.
Speaking at the rally, Rahul Gandhi said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members could not walk like this in Jammu and Kashmir because they are scared. He was wearing a traditional Kashmiri pheran to mark the occasion.
“I did not do the Yatra for myself or Congress, the aim is to stand against an ideology that wants to destroy the foundation of the country,” he asserted.
Congress sources said over a dozen leaders from the opposition parties were scheduled to attend the rally, but couldn’t make it because of the closure of Jammu-Srinagar national highway and the disruption of air traffic.
A total of 21 parties were invited for the function. Trinamool Congress, Samajwadi Party and TDP are among the parties who could not attend the function.
The Kanyakumari to Kashmir yatra started from the southern tip of the country on September 7 and ended on January 30 in Srinagar, after covering 3,970 km in 12 states, and two Union territories.
Rahul Gandhi held over 100 corner meetings and 13 press conferences during the yatra. He had over 275 planned walking interactions and more than 100 sittings.
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Disclaimer: People of Kashmir gave me hearts full of love, not hand grenades, says Rahul - Views expressed by writers in this section are their own and do not necessarily reflect Latheefarook.com point-of-view