Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra to end with mega event in Kashmir

The Congress is going big on its Bharat Jodo Yatra in Jammu and Kashmir, and top party leaders from across India have been invited to participate in the final ceremony in summer capital Srinagar on January 30.

The Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) has invited the party’s MPs, state presidents, CLP leaders and central leaders, besides party president Mallikarjun Kharge, former Congress president Sonia Gandhi and general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

“To accommodate our guests in Srinagar, we have booked 500 hotel rooms in the city. The last day of the yatra will be a mega event, where Rahul Gandhi will address the people, party workers and Bharat Jodo Yatris,” said JKPCC’s working president Raman Bhalla.

The padayatra will enter Lakhanpur in Jammu and Kashmir on January 20 after spending eight days in Punjab and culminate in Srinagar on January 30.

During the ten-day march, the yatra will cover a distance of 350 kilometres in the union territory and Rahul Gandhi will address three mega rallies, one each in Lakhanpur, Jammu City and Srinagar. He will also address small public meetings en route from the Jammu region to the Kashmir region.

The Bharat Jodo Yatra will also raise the issues of restoration of statehood, elections and unemployment.

“Jammu and Kashmir has been downgraded by the Centre, where people are facing governance challenges every day. The government has failed to hold elections as well. People don’t have public representatives to raise their concerns,” said Bhalla.

J&K has been without an elected government since June 2018, when the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) broke its alliance with the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), forcing Mehbooba Mufti to resign as chief minister of the erstwhile state.

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Congress leaders said that the yatra will be joined by other opposition leaders as well, including National Conference president Farooq Abdullah, PDP chief Mehboba Mufti and former chief minister Omar Abdullah.

“We have invited civil society groups, youngsters and social activists to participate in the yatra. All the arrangements have been put in place and LG Manoj Sinha has given directions to officers for smooth conduct of the yatra,” said JKPCC president Viqar Rasool.

He also said heating arrangements have been made for the Bharat Jodo Yatris accompanying Rahul Gandhi, to battle the cold.

Jammu and Kashmir Police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) have already reviewed the security scenario and will be deploying additional personnel on the route of the yatra.

“Security has been already beefed up because of Republic Day and since the yatra is also entering, additional arrangements have been made,” said a senior police officer.

The party has not decided on any particular venue to hoist the national flag on Republic Day.

“Since we will be marching, we have not zeroed in on any particular place to hoist the tricolour. It will be hoisted wherever the yatra reaches on January 26, The Pradesh Congress is taking care of the logistics,” Rasool added.

On reaching Kashmir, the Bharat Jodo Yatra will complete a total distance of 3,500 kilometres. It started from Kanyakumari on September 7, 2022, and has covered Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. The yatra is currently in Punjab.

This is Rahul Gandhi’s second visit to Jammu and Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370. Earlier, he had visited the union territory in August 2021, for two days.