People of Kashmir gave me hearts full of love, not hand grenades: Rahul

Srinagar: The 135-day long Bharat Jodo Yatra (BJY) concluded on Monday with a flag hoisting ceremony at the party headquarters here 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 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.

He added that the BJP members could not walk like this in Jammu and Kashmir because they are scared. He also spoke about the pain of losing someone while remembering his father Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination, saying that he understood the pain of those who lost their kin in the Pulwama attack. 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 ‘Padayatra’ concluded at the Lal Chowk area on Sunday with Rahul Gandhi unfurling the national flag, but the official closing took place on Monday.

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.
IANS