Rahul Gandhi unfurls flag at ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ campsite
Srinagar: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday hoisted the national flag at the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ camp site here and followed it with a fun snowball fight with his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
Donning a white T-shirt and a sleeveless jacket, the former Congress chief hoisted the flag at the camp site in Panthachowk to the tunes of the national anthem played to mark the culmination of the yatra, amid a fresh snowfall in the city.
In a brief address to the ‘Bharat Yatris’, Gandhi thanked them for their love, affection and support through the 136-day foot march, which began in Kanyakumari on September 7 last year.
The Gandhi siblings later joined Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and scores of other party leaders at the Pradesh Congress Committee office on the Maulana Azad Road where another flag hoisting ceremony was held. The national anthem was played after this.
The local administration had made stringent security arrangements for the programme as Lal Chowk was off limits for vehicular traffic for the second consecutive day.
Thousands of office goers had to foot the distance of around a kilometre or more to reach their work places in Lal Chowk and the adjoining areas.
Gandhi had on Sunday unfurled the national flag at the iconic clock tower in Lal Chowk to mark the end of the foot march of the Bharat Jodo Yatra.
Rahul Gandhi said the aim of his Bharat Jodo Yatra was to save the liberal and secular ethos of the country.
“I have not done this (Yatra) for myself or for the Congress but for the people of the country. Our aim is to stand against the ideology that wants to destroy the foundation of this country,” he said at a rally here to mark the culmination of the 136-day march.
The rally went ahead despite heavy snowfall in the city. Recalling the moments when he was informed about the assassination of his grandmother and father — former prime ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi — over phone calls, the former Congress president said the inciters of violence will never understand that pain.
“The aim of the yatra is to end the phone calls announcing the deaths of loved ones — be it a soldier, a CRPF jawan or any Kashmiri,” he added.
Gandhi challenged the BJP top brass to undertake a yatra like his in Jammu and Kashmir, saying they will never do it as they are scared.
“I can guarantee you that no BJP leader can walk like this in Jammu and Kashmir. They will not do it, not because they won’t be allowed to but because they are scared,” he said.
Gandhi said he was advised against walking the Jammu and Kashmir lap on the grounds that he might be attacked.
“I thought over it and then decided that I will walk in my home and with my people (in J&K). Why not give them (his enemies) a chance to change the colour of my shirt, let them make it red.
“The people of Kashmir did not give me hand grenades, only their hearts full of love,” he said.
