'Was warned I might be attacked in Kashmir, but people gave me love': Rahul Gandhi

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi addressing a rally in Srinagar. (Pic ANI)

Marking the finale of Bharat Jodo Yatra, Congress leader, and Lok Sabha MP Rahul Gandhi on January 30 said he was warned by the administration that he might be attacked in Kashmir, but he received only love.

“I thought of walking with my people and a give a chance to those who hate me to change the colour of my white shirt into the red. My family has taught me if one has to live, one has to live fearlessly,” said Rahul Gandhi.

The former Congress president wearing Pheran (traditional Kashmiri attire) was addressing a gathering during the closing ceremony of the Bharat Jodo Yatra at Sher-e-Kashmir Cricket Stadium in Srinagar.

The ceremony had begun with a flag-hoisting and was attended by leaders from the opposition parties including former chief ministers of Jammu and Kashmir Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti.

“The people treated me as one of their own and welcomed me graciously,” said Gandhi.

While speaking at the event, the senior Congress leader also spoke about the pain of losing his father Rajiv Gandhi, and grandmother Indira Gandhi.

“We walked for four days in the Valley, but no BJP leader can walk like this. And it’s not because the people of Jammu and Kashmir won’t let them walk, it is because they are scared,” added Gandhi.

Gandhi recalled the moment when he got to know about his grandmother and former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s assassination.

“I was in school when I received the call about my grandmother’s assassination. I have gone through pain, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, Ajit Doval, and RSS people cannot understand,” he added.

He said a journalist had asked him about the aim of the Bharat Jodo Yatra in Jammu and Kashmir, I want to say, “I don’t want people in the Army, civilians to receive disturbing calls.”

Gandhi also said that Bharat Jodo Yatra was not for Congress, it was against the ideology that is destroying the country.

“We want to remind people, India is a country of love, compassion, and brotherhood. And we have tried to open the shops of love in the market of hatred,” Rahul Gandhi added.

Bharat Jodo Yatra, which had started from Kanyakumari on September 7, 2022, reached Srinagar on January 29 after completing a distance of 4,080 kilometres.