Tag: Bharat-Jodo Yatra

  • Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra: Priyanka Gandhi Vadra joins Rahul Gandhi in UP's Moradabad as Congress' padyatra resumes

    Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra: Priyanka Gandhi Vadra joins Rahul Gandhi in UP's Moradabad as Congress' padyatra resumes

  • Nyay Yatra during Ram Mandir Pranpratishtha is a conspiracy to create communal tension: Assam CM

    Nyay Yatra during Ram Mandir Pranpratishtha is a conspiracy to create communal tension: Assam CM

  • Rahul Gandhi addresses media from Nagaland's Kohima | Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra | Live

    Rahul Gandhi addresses media from Nagaland's Kohima | Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra | Live

  • Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra: From Manipur to Mumbai, Rahul Gandhi to cover 15 states and 100 LS seats – The Economic Times Video

    Congress has announced its Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra campaign, led by Rahul Gandhi. The campaign will start in Manipur on January 14 and end in Mumbai, covering 15 states, 110 districts, and 100 Lok Sabha seats over 66 to 68 days. Here’s all you need to know about this campaign.

  • Power games | Bharat Jodo Yatra-2: Rahul plans Oct 2 launch from mahatma’s birthplace

    Express News Service

    Bharat Jodo Yatra-2Rahul plans Oct 2 launch from mahatma’s birthplace

    Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi has decided to launch the second leg of his hugely successful Bharat Jodo Yatra. Sources said it will begin from Porbandar, the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi, this October 2. The Yatra will start from Gujarat and pass through at least four poll-bound states – Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Mizoram — before concluding at the holy Parshuram Kund in the Lohit district of Arunachal Pradesh. So far, it is unclear if the Yatra will also touch Telangana, also scheduled for elections this December.

    A team of top Congress leaders, including K C Venugopal and Jairam Ramesh, is finalising the route in consultation with Rahul Gandhi and leaders of the states the Yatra will pass through. Initially, the Yatra was to culminate at the Kamakhya Devi Temple at Guwahati. But since the Manipur turmoil has hit the entire northeast, the Yatra was extended to the region’s other states to express solidarity with the people. The Bharat Jodo Yatra has been one of the most successful mass contact programmes the Congress party has undertaken in decades.

    A part of the credit for the party’s success in the Karnataka assembly election has been given to the Yatra, which went through the southern state for twenty-one days, touching scores of villages, towns and cities. On the lines of the first leg of the Yatra that went on for five months, the Bharat Jodo-2 is likely to go on for four months and end with the Parshuram Kund Mela, known as the Kumbh of the Northeast, attended by thousands from across the country on Makar Sankranti in January.

    CWC reconstitutionCongress finds Udaipur Declaration tough to implement

    The Congress party’s Nav Sankalp (new resolve) declaration adopted at the Chintan Shivir in Udaipur on May 15, 2022, has become the biggest impediment to reconstituting the Congress Working Committee, the party’s highest decision-making body. The party said in its Udaipur Declaration, “It is in the organisation’s interest to limit the term of a position to five years so that new people get an opportunity. Not only this, taking into consideration the demographics of India, it is important to ensure that 50% of the office bearers in Congress Working Committee, Pradesh Congress Committees, District Congress Committees, Block Congress Committees and Mandal Congress Committees are below the age of 50.

    Each of these units must also reflect social reality. Just and fair representation of Dalits, adivasis, backward classes, minorities and women should be ensured. The principle of one-person-one-post should be followed.” According to sources, the party is finding it difficult to get suitable candidates under fifty for the CWC. Top party leaders have had many rounds of meetings on this subject, but the constitution of the CWC has been inordinately delayed.

    The Udaipur Declaration had mandated that “all the vacant positions at the Block, District, State and National level will be filled in the next 90 to 180 days…” It has been over eight months since Mallikarjun Kharge was elected as Congress president in October 2022 and five months since the AICC plenary at Raipur ratified his election and authorised him to nominate the CWC, but a decision is yet to be taken on the issue.

    Bharat Jodo Yatra-2
    Rahul plans Oct 2 launch from mahatma’s birthplace

    Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi has decided to launch the second leg of his hugely successful Bharat Jodo Yatra. Sources said it will begin from Porbandar, the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi, this October 2. The Yatra will start from Gujarat and pass through at least four poll-bound states – Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Mizoram — before concluding at the holy Parshuram Kund in the Lohit district of Arunachal Pradesh. So far, it is unclear if the Yatra will also touch Telangana, also scheduled for elections this December.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    A team of top Congress leaders, including K C Venugopal and Jairam Ramesh, is finalising the route in consultation with Rahul Gandhi and leaders of the states the Yatra will pass through. Initially, the Yatra was to culminate at the Kamakhya Devi Temple at Guwahati. But since the Manipur turmoil has hit the entire northeast, the Yatra was extended to the region’s other states to express solidarity with the people. The Bharat Jodo Yatra has been one of the most successful mass contact programmes the Congress party has undertaken in decades.

    A part of the credit for the party’s success in the Karnataka assembly election has been given to the Yatra, which went through the southern state for twenty-one days, touching scores of villages, towns and cities. On the lines of the first leg of the Yatra that went on for five months, the Bharat Jodo-2 is likely to go on for four months and end with the Parshuram Kund Mela, known as the Kumbh of the Northeast, attended by thousands from across the country on Makar Sankranti in January.

    CWC reconstitution
    Congress finds Udaipur Declaration tough to implement

    The Congress party’s Nav Sankalp (new resolve) declaration adopted at the Chintan Shivir in Udaipur on May 15, 2022, has become the biggest impediment to reconstituting the Congress Working Committee, the party’s highest decision-making body. The party said in its Udaipur Declaration, “It is in the organisation’s interest to limit the term of a position to five years so that new people get an opportunity. Not only this, taking into consideration the demographics of India, it is important to ensure that 50% of the office bearers in Congress Working Committee, Pradesh Congress Committees, District Congress Committees, Block Congress Committees and Mandal Congress Committees are below the age of 50.

    Each of these units must also reflect social reality. Just and fair representation of Dalits, adivasis, backward classes, minorities and women should be ensured. The principle of one-person-one-post should be followed.” According to sources, the party is finding it difficult to get suitable candidates under fifty for the CWC. Top party leaders have had many rounds of meetings on this subject, but the constitution of the CWC has been inordinately delayed.

    The Udaipur Declaration had mandated that “all the vacant positions at the Block, District, State and National level will be filled in the next 90 to 180 days…” It has been over eight months since Mallikarjun Kharge was elected as Congress president in October 2022 and five months since the AICC plenary at Raipur ratified his election and authorised him to nominate the CWC, but a decision is yet to be taken on the issue.

  • BJP can be defeated if Opposition is ‘aligned properly’: Rahul Gandhi 

    By PTI

    SANTA CLARA: The ruling BJP can be defeated if the Opposition is “aligned properly” and the Congress party is working towards it and it is “coming along very nicely”, Rahul Gandhi has told Indian Americans here, citing his party’s emphatic victory in the recent assembly elections in Karnataka.

    Responding to questions from the moderator and the audiences at an event at the Silicon Valley Campus of the University of California in Santa Cruz on Tuesday, Gandhi said he can clearly see “vulnerabilities” in the BJP.

    As a political entrepreneur, I can clearly see vulnerabilities in the BJP. The BJP can be defeated if the Opposition is aligned properly, he said.

    If you look at the Karnataka elections, the general sense is that the Congress Party fought the BJP and defeated the BJP. But what is not well understood is the mechanics that we used,” he said.

    The Congress party used a completely different approach to fighting an election and building a narrative, Gandhi said, adding that elements of what happened in Karnataka came out of the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’.

    In the May 10 elections to the 224-member Karnataka Assembly, the Congress won 135 seats, while incumbent BJP and the former prime minister H D Deve Gowda-led Janata Dal (Secular) got 66 and 19, respectively.

    Gandhi said in the Karnataka elections, the BJP spent 10 times more money than the Congress party.

    He said the country needed an alternative vision to defeat the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), in addition to having a united Opposition in the 2024 general elections.

    On the matter of opposition unity, we are working towards it and it is coming along very nicely. But I think in order to defeat the BJP, you need more than just opposition unity. Just opposition unity, in my opinion, is not going to be enough to do the job. I think you need an alternative vision to the BJP, he said.

    Part of Bharat Jodo Yatra was the first step in proposing such a vision. It’s the vision that all opposition parties are aligned with. No opposition party would disagree with the idea of the Bharat Jodo Yatra,” he said.

    Bharat Jodo Yatra (Unite India March) was a Gandhi-led mass movement aimed at uniting India. The yatra began on September 7 from Kanyakumari, passed through 12 states and culminated in Jammu and Kashmir on January 31.

    During the course of the yatra, Gandhi, 52, addressed 12 public meetings, over 100 corner meetings and 13 press conferences.

    He had over 275 planned walking interactions and more than 100 sitting interactions.

    “So, I think bringing the opposition together is important, but also aligning the opposition and making the people of India understand that there is not just a group of opposition parties that have combined but a proposed way forward for the country. And we’re working on those things, Gandhi said.

    The ex-Wayanad MP said it is the president of the Congress party who will decide the prime ministerial candidate.

    We believe that everybody in India, regardless of who they are, whichever part of the society they come from, should have a voice that voice should be respected, to be listened to be appreciated. And I think that voice is an asset, he said.

    In his address, Gandhi also took a dig at the ruling BJP government, saying it is “threatening” the people and “misusing” the country’s agencies.

    “The BJP is threatening people and misusing government agencies. The Bharat Jodo Yatra started because all the instruments that we needed to connect with the people were controlled by the BJP-RSS,” he said.

    “We were also finding that in some way, it had become quite difficult to act politically. And that’s why we decided to walk from the southernmost tip of India to Srinagar,” he said. Gandhi said the yatra carried the spirit of affection, respect and humility.

    “If one studies history, it can be seen that all spiritual leaders including Guru Nanak Dev ji, Guru Basavanna ji, Narayana Guru ji united the nation in a similar way,” he said.

    Gandhi said India is not what is being shown in the media which likes to promote a political narrative that is far from reality, asserting that there is a “huge distortion”.

    “It was very clear to me in the Yatra that it’s in the media’s interest to project these things, it helps the BJP. So, don’t think that everything you see in the media is the truth,” he said. “India is not what the media shows. The media likes to show a particular narrative. It likes to promote a political narrative that is actually not what is going on in India,” he said.

    The Congress leader arrived here on Tuesday on a three-city US tour during which he will interact with the Indian diaspora and meet American lawmakers.

    He had a first-hand experience of the American immigration system as he had to wait for about two hours along with his other co-passengers on the Air India flight because of the common shortage of staff at the US airports.

    People were seen taking selfies with him and asking him questions.

    He was seen interacting and mingling with other travellers at the San Francisco airport.

    Last week, Indian Overseas Congress chairperson Sam Pitroda said Gandhi’s visit is aimed at promoting shared values and a vision of real democracy.

    “The purpose of his (Gandhi’s) trip is to connect, interact and begin a new conversation with various individuals, institutions and media, including the Indian diaspora that is growing in numbers in the United States and abroad to promote the shared values and vision of the real democracy with a focus on freedom, inclusion, sustainability, justice, peace and opportunities world over,” Pitroda said in a statement.

    SANTA CLARA: The ruling BJP can be defeated if the Opposition is “aligned properly” and the Congress party is working towards it and it is “coming along very nicely”, Rahul Gandhi has told Indian Americans here, citing his party’s emphatic victory in the recent assembly elections in Karnataka.

    Responding to questions from the moderator and the audiences at an event at the Silicon Valley Campus of the University of California in Santa Cruz on Tuesday, Gandhi said he can clearly see “vulnerabilities” in the BJP.

    As a political entrepreneur, I can clearly see vulnerabilities in the BJP. The BJP can be defeated if the Opposition is aligned properly, he said.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    If you look at the Karnataka elections, the general sense is that the Congress Party fought the BJP and defeated the BJP. But what is not well understood is the mechanics that we used,” he said.

    The Congress party used a completely different approach to fighting an election and building a narrative, Gandhi said, adding that elements of what happened in Karnataka came out of the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’.

    In the May 10 elections to the 224-member Karnataka Assembly, the Congress won 135 seats, while incumbent BJP and the former prime minister H D Deve Gowda-led Janata Dal (Secular) got 66 and 19, respectively.

    Gandhi said in the Karnataka elections, the BJP spent 10 times more money than the Congress party.

    He said the country needed an alternative vision to defeat the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), in addition to having a united Opposition in the 2024 general elections.

    On the matter of opposition unity, we are working towards it and it is coming along very nicely. But I think in order to defeat the BJP, you need more than just opposition unity. Just opposition unity, in my opinion, is not going to be enough to do the job. I think you need an alternative vision to the BJP, he said.

    Part of Bharat Jodo Yatra was the first step in proposing such a vision. It’s the vision that all opposition parties are aligned with. No opposition party would disagree with the idea of the Bharat Jodo Yatra,” he said.

    Bharat Jodo Yatra (Unite India March) was a Gandhi-led mass movement aimed at uniting India. The yatra began on September 7 from Kanyakumari, passed through 12 states and culminated in Jammu and Kashmir on January 31.

    During the course of the yatra, Gandhi, 52, addressed 12 public meetings, over 100 corner meetings and 13 press conferences.

    He had over 275 planned walking interactions and more than 100 sitting interactions.

    “So, I think bringing the opposition together is important, but also aligning the opposition and making the people of India understand that there is not just a group of opposition parties that have combined but a proposed way forward for the country. And we’re working on those things, Gandhi said.

    The ex-Wayanad MP said it is the president of the Congress party who will decide the prime ministerial candidate.

    We believe that everybody in India, regardless of who they are, whichever part of the society they come from, should have a voice that voice should be respected, to be listened to be appreciated. And I think that voice is an asset, he said.

    In his address, Gandhi also took a dig at the ruling BJP government, saying it is “threatening” the people and “misusing” the country’s agencies.

    “The BJP is threatening people and misusing government agencies. The Bharat Jodo Yatra started because all the instruments that we needed to connect with the people were controlled by the BJP-RSS,” he said.

    “We were also finding that in some way, it had become quite difficult to act politically. And that’s why we decided to walk from the southernmost tip of India to Srinagar,” he said. Gandhi said the yatra carried the spirit of affection, respect and humility.

    “If one studies history, it can be seen that all spiritual leaders including Guru Nanak Dev ji, Guru Basavanna ji, Narayana Guru ji united the nation in a similar way,” he said.

    Gandhi said India is not what is being shown in the media which likes to promote a political narrative that is far from reality, asserting that there is a “huge distortion”.

    “It was very clear to me in the Yatra that it’s in the media’s interest to project these things, it helps the BJP. So, don’t think that everything you see in the media is the truth,” he said. “India is not what the media shows. The media likes to show a particular narrative. It likes to promote a political narrative that is actually not what is going on in India,” he said.

    The Congress leader arrived here on Tuesday on a three-city US tour during which he will interact with the Indian diaspora and meet American lawmakers.

    He had a first-hand experience of the American immigration system as he had to wait for about two hours along with his other co-passengers on the Air India flight because of the common shortage of staff at the US airports.

    People were seen taking selfies with him and asking him questions.

    He was seen interacting and mingling with other travellers at the San Francisco airport.

    Last week, Indian Overseas Congress chairperson Sam Pitroda said Gandhi’s visit is aimed at promoting shared values and a vision of real democracy.

    “The purpose of his (Gandhi’s) trip is to connect, interact and begin a new conversation with various individuals, institutions and media, including the Indian diaspora that is growing in numbers in the United States and abroad to promote the shared values and vision of the real democracy with a focus on freedom, inclusion, sustainability, justice, peace and opportunities world over,” Pitroda said in a statement.

  • Congress to chalk out strategy for upcoming polls at plenary session

    By PTI

    RAIPUR: Laying out a clear roadmap for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and forging poll tie-ups with like-minded parties to take on the BJP will be the centre of discussion at the three-day Congress plenary session starting here Friday.

    The Congress top brass will be in attendance at the 85th plenary session that will primarily endorse the presidentship of Mallikarjun Kharge and will pave the way for the new working committee led by him.

    The session, which comes in the backdrop of the Bharat Jodo Yatra that has been touted as a success by the party, will be attended by around 15,000 delegates.

    On the first day of the three-day session, the Steering Committee, which is playing the role of the Working Committee (the previous one was dissolved until a new CWC is formed), will also decide on whether there will be elections to the top decision-making body or not.

    Sources said while a section within the party, especially the younger lot, wants elections to the CWC, elders in the grand old party want nomination instead to avoid dissidence within and enable cohesion in the top body as the party heads into a tough election cycle ahead.

    Assembly polls will be held in nine states this year, including Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan where the Congress rules, and Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka where the party is the principal opposition.

    Winning a few of the major states this year would be the key to Congress revival at the Centre ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

    The party currently rules three states on its own – Himachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan.

    The party seeks to keep bitterness at bay, with most seniors of the belief that consensus is the best form of election.

    The CWC has 25 members, including 12 elected members and 11 nominated ones, besides the Congress president and the leader of the party in Parliament, as per the party’s constitution.

    The last time elections were held for the CWC was in Kolkata in 1997 under Sitaram Kesri, also attended by Sonia Gandhi.

    At the plenary, the party will also give direction to the rank and file to prepare for the state poll cycle ahead in Karnataka, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Mizoram.

    Nagaland and Meghalaya will witness polls on February 27. Tripura elections have already concluded.

    As part of poll preparations, the party would also have to work out solutions to end factionalism in the state units, including those in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh and Telangana.

    Seeking to carry on the momentum gained by the Bharat Jodo Yatra from Kanyakumari to Kashmir, the party may also formulate a plan to launch another yatra from East to West covering the northeastern states starting from Arunachal Pradesh to Gujarat.

    The Congress has formed several committees to work out on issues to be deliberated during the session and to organise the conclave.

    The plenary comes at a time when the Congress faces an unprecedented challenge to its electoral might and even to its primacy in the opposition block.

    While the Congress hopes to stitch an anti-BJP front for 2024 polls having said that it alone has the moral and the organisational power to lead it, clouds of disunity hover all around.

    The TMC, BRS and AAP appear reluctant to accept the Congress stewardship and BRS chief K Chandrashekhar Rao has been holding his own parleys to rein in the BJP.

    The TMC had on Wednesday attacked former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi for saying that the ruling party of Bengal was working to help the BJP.

    “Rahul Gandhi’s remarks are pretty rich, especially coming from a party that has lost 40 out of the last 45 Assembly elections in India,” the TMC taunted the Congress just ahead of the AICC plenary.

    In Bihar too Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has called a meeting of Grand alliance allies on February 25 to coincide with the plenary in signs that have disturbed the Congress, which wants to unseat the BJP.

    The plenary, leaders hope, will offer some clarity for the future.

    RAIPUR: Laying out a clear roadmap for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and forging poll tie-ups with like-minded parties to take on the BJP will be the centre of discussion at the three-day Congress plenary session starting here Friday.

    The Congress top brass will be in attendance at the 85th plenary session that will primarily endorse the presidentship of Mallikarjun Kharge and will pave the way for the new working committee led by him.

    The session, which comes in the backdrop of the Bharat Jodo Yatra that has been touted as a success by the party, will be attended by around 15,000 delegates.

    On the first day of the three-day session, the Steering Committee, which is playing the role of the Working Committee (the previous one was dissolved until a new CWC is formed), will also decide on whether there will be elections to the top decision-making body or not.

    Sources said while a section within the party, especially the younger lot, wants elections to the CWC, elders in the grand old party want nomination instead to avoid dissidence within and enable cohesion in the top body as the party heads into a tough election cycle ahead.

    Assembly polls will be held in nine states this year, including Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan where the Congress rules, and Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka where the party is the principal opposition.

    Winning a few of the major states this year would be the key to Congress revival at the Centre ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

    The party currently rules three states on its own – Himachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan.

    The party seeks to keep bitterness at bay, with most seniors of the belief that consensus is the best form of election.

    The CWC has 25 members, including 12 elected members and 11 nominated ones, besides the Congress president and the leader of the party in Parliament, as per the party’s constitution.

    The last time elections were held for the CWC was in Kolkata in 1997 under Sitaram Kesri, also attended by Sonia Gandhi.

    At the plenary, the party will also give direction to the rank and file to prepare for the state poll cycle ahead in Karnataka, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Mizoram.

    Nagaland and Meghalaya will witness polls on February 27. Tripura elections have already concluded.

    As part of poll preparations, the party would also have to work out solutions to end factionalism in the state units, including those in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh and Telangana.

    Seeking to carry on the momentum gained by the Bharat Jodo Yatra from Kanyakumari to Kashmir, the party may also formulate a plan to launch another yatra from East to West covering the northeastern states starting from Arunachal Pradesh to Gujarat.

    The Congress has formed several committees to work out on issues to be deliberated during the session and to organise the conclave.

    The plenary comes at a time when the Congress faces an unprecedented challenge to its electoral might and even to its primacy in the opposition block.

    While the Congress hopes to stitch an anti-BJP front for 2024 polls having said that it alone has the moral and the organisational power to lead it, clouds of disunity hover all around.

    The TMC, BRS and AAP appear reluctant to accept the Congress stewardship and BRS chief K Chandrashekhar Rao has been holding his own parleys to rein in the BJP.

    The TMC had on Wednesday attacked former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi for saying that the ruling party of Bengal was working to help the BJP.

    “Rahul Gandhi’s remarks are pretty rich, especially coming from a party that has lost 40 out of the last 45 Assembly elections in India,” the TMC taunted the Congress just ahead of the AICC plenary.

    In Bihar too Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has called a meeting of Grand alliance allies on February 25 to coincide with the plenary in signs that have disturbed the Congress, which wants to unseat the BJP.

    The plenary, leaders hope, will offer some clarity for the future.

  • Kashmiris gave me love, not hand grenades: Rahul

    Express News Service

    SRINAGAR:  Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday struck a bond with Kashmiris as he said they gave him hearts full of love and not hand grenades. He said no BJP leader can walk like he did, as they are scared.

    After concluding his 4,000 km long Bharat Jodo Yatra, Rahul was addressing a rally here. He called for the end of violence in the Valley, saying phone calls announcing deaths of loved ones whether of a soldier, a CRPF jawan or any Kashmiri, should stop. “No child, mother, son or any other family member should take this phone call. My aim is to stop this call,” he said.

    “I have not done this yatra for Congress but for the country. Our aim is to stand against the ideology that wants to destroy the foundation of this country. We should stand united with love and affection against them,” Rahul said.

    Amid heavy snowfall, Rahul said while the BJP has shown a path of politics, the Congress wants to show the country a different route of dignity, love and affection. Rahul said he was warned that if he walked in Kashmir, he could be attacked. “However, I walked for four days. I thought those who hate me, let me give them an opportunity to change the colour of my white T-shirt to red…Kashmiri people did not give me a hand grenade but gave me love and warmth,” he said. 

    ALSO READ | The Laal Singh Chaddha moment in Indian politics

    The rally was to be a show of strength for the Opposition, but many could not make it due to bad weather. Apart from the Congress leaders, Farooq and Omar Abdullah of National Conference, Mehbooba Mufti of PDP, D Raja of CPI, RSP’s Premchandran, and leaders from DMK, JMM, BSP, VCK and IUML participated in the rally.

    ‘End these phone calls’Rahul said, “I can understand the pain of Kashmiris as I have seen the violence.” He recalled when he was informed about the killing of his grandma (Indira) and dad (Rajiv) over phone, adding he wanted to end such calls

    SRINAGAR:  Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday struck a bond with Kashmiris as he said they gave him hearts full of love and not hand grenades. He said no BJP leader can walk like he did, as they are scared.

    After concluding his 4,000 km long Bharat Jodo Yatra, Rahul was addressing a rally here. He called for the end of violence in the Valley, saying phone calls announcing deaths of loved ones whether of a soldier, a CRPF jawan or any Kashmiri, should stop. “No child, mother, son or any other family member should take this phone call. My aim is to stop this call,” he said.

    “I have not done this yatra for Congress but for the country. Our aim is to stand against the ideology that wants to destroy the foundation of this country. We should stand united with love and affection against them,” Rahul said.

    Amid heavy snowfall, Rahul said while the BJP has shown a path of politics, the Congress wants to show the country a different route of dignity, love and affection. Rahul said he was warned that if he walked in Kashmir, he could be attacked. “However, I walked for four days. I thought those who hate me, let me give them an opportunity to change the colour of my white T-shirt to red…Kashmiri people did not give me a hand grenade but gave me love and warmth,” he said. 

    ALSO READ | The Laal Singh Chaddha moment in Indian politics

    The rally was to be a show of strength for the Opposition, but many could not make it due to bad weather. Apart from the Congress leaders, Farooq and Omar Abdullah of National Conference, Mehbooba Mufti of PDP, D Raja of CPI, RSP’s Premchandran, and leaders from DMK, JMM, BSP, VCK and IUML participated in the rally.

    ‘End these phone calls’
    Rahul said, “I can understand the pain of Kashmiris as I have seen the violence.” He recalled when he was informed about the killing of his grandma (Indira) and dad (Rajiv) over phone, adding he wanted to end such calls

  • Opposition parties may have differences but united against BJP-RSS ideology: Rahul Gandhi

    By PTI

    SRINAGAR: Opposition parties may have differences but they will stand united against the ideology of RSS and BJP, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said here on Sunday, a day before his Kanyakumari-to-Kashmir Bharat Jodo Yatra culminates.

    Addressing a press conference here, his 13th during the 134-day long yatra, Gandhi said the Opposition unity comes after dialogue, conversation and vision.

    Responding to a question on the cold shoulder offered to his yatra by Opposition leaders like TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, he said it is not correct to say the Opposition is fragmented.

    “It is true that there are differences among Opposition and discussions take place but the opposition will fight together this battle of ideologies in which on one side there is the BJP and RSS and on the other side are forces opposing them,” he said.

    Gandhi said yatra may have traversed the country from South to North but its impact is countrywide.

    ALSO READ | Promise made to India fulfilled: Rahul after hoisting tricolour in Srinagar

    “The BJP and RSS are attacking the institutional framework of this country. Whether it is Parliament, assemblies, judiciaries, or media. All institutions are being attacked and captured by the BJP. What you have seen in different parts of the country and Jammu and Kashmir are the result of that assault on the institutional framework,” he said.

    Summing up the yatra, which will culminate on Monday with him hoisting the tricolour at a Congress office here, Gandhi said this march is no longer a Congress show but has become a movement for the aam janta (common people).

    He said the Bharat Jodo Yatra envisages to provide to people with an alternative vision of brotherhood to BJP and RSS’ “politics of hate and arrogance.”

    “This yatra has given an alternative to the people of this country. On one side is the vision to crush others while ours is the vision of embracing and taking people together,” he said.

    He said the march will have a tremendous effect on the politics of this country.

    “I cannot tell what exactly will be the effect but I can tell that this yatra is not over. It is a first step towards a new beginning,” he said.

    ALSO READ | Bharat Jodo Yatra helps Rahul Gandhi rebuild political image

    SRINAGAR: Opposition parties may have differences but they will stand united against the ideology of RSS and BJP, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said here on Sunday, a day before his Kanyakumari-to-Kashmir Bharat Jodo Yatra culminates.

    Addressing a press conference here, his 13th during the 134-day long yatra, Gandhi said the Opposition unity comes after dialogue, conversation and vision.

    Responding to a question on the cold shoulder offered to his yatra by Opposition leaders like TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, he said it is not correct to say the Opposition is fragmented.

    “It is true that there are differences among Opposition and discussions take place but the opposition will fight together this battle of ideologies in which on one side there is the BJP and RSS and on the other side are forces opposing them,” he said.

    Gandhi said yatra may have traversed the country from South to North but its impact is countrywide.

    ALSO READ | Promise made to India fulfilled: Rahul after hoisting tricolour in Srinagar

    “The BJP and RSS are attacking the institutional framework of this country. Whether it is Parliament, assemblies, judiciaries, or media. All institutions are being attacked and captured by the BJP. What you have seen in different parts of the country and Jammu and Kashmir are the result of that assault on the institutional framework,” he said.

    Summing up the yatra, which will culminate on Monday with him hoisting the tricolour at a Congress office here, Gandhi said this march is no longer a Congress show but has become a movement for the aam janta (common people).

    He said the Bharat Jodo Yatra envisages to provide to people with an alternative vision of brotherhood to BJP and RSS’ “politics of hate and arrogance.”

    “This yatra has given an alternative to the people of this country. On one side is the vision to crush others while ours is the vision of embracing and taking people together,” he said.

    He said the march will have a tremendous effect on the politics of this country.

    “I cannot tell what exactly will be the effect but I can tell that this yatra is not over. It is a first step towards a new beginning,” he said.

    ALSO READ | Bharat Jodo Yatra helps Rahul Gandhi rebuild political image

  • PM Modi made it possible for Rahul Gandhi to hoist tricolour at Lal Chowk: BJP

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI/JAMMU: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has created such an atmosphere in Kashmir that any Indian can hoist the national flag with pride at Lal Chowk in Srinagar, the BJP said on Sunday and asked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to thank him for the change in the Valley.

    The comments from BJP spokesperson and former Union minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore came after Gandhi unfurled the tricolour at the historic clock tower of Lal Chowk, popularly known as ‘Ghanta Ghar’, as part of his Bharat Jodo Yatra’, which concludes on Monday.

    “Rahul Gandhi is hoisting tiranga with pride at Lal Chowk. PM Modi and his government had created such a situation in Kashmir that every Indian can unfurl tiranga with pride there. Rahul Gandhi must thank Modi ji after unfurling tiranga,” he said in a statement.

    Echoing similar views, Jammu and Kashmir BJP president Ravinder Raina said the credit for Gandhi unfurling the national flag goes to Modi who normalised the situation in the Valley with the abrogation of Article 370.

    Gandhi was able to do it because of the policies of Prime Minister Modi who dealt a severe blow to separatism and terrorism by abrogating Article 370 (in 2019) and strengthened nationalist forces, paving way for the normalisation of the situation and return of peace to the region, he said in Jammu.

    Raina said the Congress ruled the country for the most part of the past seven decades but none of its leaders dared to unfurl the tricolour at Lal Chowk. Modi, along with the then BJP president Murli Manohar Joshi, unfurled the national flag at the same venue when terrorism was at its peak in 1990, he said.

    Today, peace and normalcy have returned to Kashmir due to the efforts of Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. Gandhi was able to move to Lal Chowk and unfurl the tricolour which none of his party leaders could do in the past 70 years, the BJP leader said.

    Referring to the recent statement of AICC in-charge J-K Rajni Patil that Gandhi will unfurl the national flag at the party headquarters rather than Lal Chowk which is the agenda of the RSS, Raina said, “Though late, the Congress has started working on the nationalist agenda of the RSS.”

    “We want to tell Gandhi and his party leaders to learn from the RSS members who have nationalist sentiments in their hearts and work for the nation,” he said in a swipe at the Congress.

    NEW DELHI/JAMMU: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has created such an atmosphere in Kashmir that any Indian can hoist the national flag with pride at Lal Chowk in Srinagar, the BJP said on Sunday and asked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to thank him for the change in the Valley.

    The comments from BJP spokesperson and former Union minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore came after Gandhi unfurled the tricolour at the historic clock tower of Lal Chowk, popularly known as ‘Ghanta Ghar’, as part of his Bharat Jodo Yatra’, which concludes on Monday.

    “Rahul Gandhi is hoisting tiranga with pride at Lal Chowk. PM Modi and his government had created such a situation in Kashmir that every Indian can unfurl tiranga with pride there. Rahul Gandhi must thank Modi ji after unfurling tiranga,” he said in a statement.

    Echoing similar views, Jammu and Kashmir BJP president Ravinder Raina said the credit for Gandhi unfurling the national flag goes to Modi who normalised the situation in the Valley with the abrogation of Article 370.

    Gandhi was able to do it because of the policies of Prime Minister Modi who dealt a severe blow to separatism and terrorism by abrogating Article 370 (in 2019) and strengthened nationalist forces, paving way for the normalisation of the situation and return of peace to the region, he said in Jammu.

    Raina said the Congress ruled the country for the most part of the past seven decades but none of its leaders dared to unfurl the tricolour at Lal Chowk. Modi, along with the then BJP president Murli Manohar Joshi, unfurled the national flag at the same venue when terrorism was at its peak in 1990, he said.

    Today, peace and normalcy have returned to Kashmir due to the efforts of Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. Gandhi was able to move to Lal Chowk and unfurl the tricolour which none of his party leaders could do in the past 70 years, the BJP leader said.

    Referring to the recent statement of AICC in-charge J-K Rajni Patil that Gandhi will unfurl the national flag at the party headquarters rather than Lal Chowk which is the agenda of the RSS, Raina said, “Though late, the Congress has started working on the nationalist agenda of the RSS.”

    “We want to tell Gandhi and his party leaders to learn from the RSS members who have nationalist sentiments in their hearts and work for the nation,” he said in a swipe at the Congress.