Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday unfurled the Tricolour at the historic clock tower of Lal Chowk in Srinagar to mark the end of the 3,500-km-long Bharat Jodo yatra. After attending the brief ceremony at Lal Chowk Rahul posted a tweet on his timeline, saying, “By hoisting the Tricolour at Lal Chowk, the promise made to India was fulfilled today. Hate will lose, love will always win. There will be a new dawn of hopes in India.”
Rahul hoisted the Tricolour at Lal Chowk 75 years after his great-grandfather Jawaharlal Nehru did so for the first time here. Rahul was first scheduled to hoist the Tricolour at the Congress office in Srinagar as earlier the Congress said that hoisting the national flag at Lal Chowk is “part of the RSS’ agenda”. But the party changed it plan at the last minute after its leaders perhaps realised the significance of the Lal Chowk.
To mark the end of the yatra, the Congress has convened an all-party gathering that will also reflect the extent of Opposition unity Rahul has been able to achieve through the Kanyakumari-to-Kashmir foot march.
Rahul was accompanied by his sister and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and party leaders from Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) for the flag hoisting.
The security for the 10-minute event was at its peak as all roads leading to Lal Chowk had been sealed off from Saturday night and no vehicular movement was allowed. Shops, business establishments, and the weekly flea market were closed as part of the security drill for the flag unfurling by the former Congress president.
Taking a 30-minute break from the Kanyakumari-to-Kashmir foot march at Sonawar, Rahul drove to the Pradesh Congress Committee headquarters on Maulana Azad Road before heading to the clock tower, locally known as ‘Ghanta Ghar’, to unfurl the Tricolour.
More than a dozen Opposition parties will attend the concluding function on Monday. While the DMK, NCP, RJD, Shiv Sena, CPI(M), CPI, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), Kerala Congress, National Conference, PDP, and JMM have confirmed their participation, the Trinamool Congress, Samajwadi Party, and the TDP will skip the function. A total of 24 parties were invited by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge for the final function of the foot march led by Rahul.
The Congress did not extend an invitation to the AAP, BRS, BJD, and Akali Dal, who are the party’s bitter rivals in their respective states.
Earlier, Congress former ally in Karnataka, JDS said the Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda was invited to the rally but will be unable to attend it. He conveyed his “deep appreciation” for Rahul Gandhi for his achievement of walking the length of the nation for harmony.
Addressing a press conference in Srinagar hours after unfurling the national flag at the historic clock tower of Lal Chowk, Rahul advised the Modi government to deal with China firmly by making it clear that “we are not going to tolerate them sitting on our land.”
Rahul claimed the approach that the government was following “by completely denying that the Chinese have taken our land”, is extremely dangerous as it would give them the confidence to do even “more aggressive things.
The government must deal with China firmly and make it clear that “we are not going to tolerate them sitting on our land”.
Rahul said the Prime Minister of India is the only person in the country who is under the impression that the Chinese have not taken any land from India.
“I recently met some ex-army people and even a delegation from Ladakh. They said that 2000 square kilometres of our Indian territory have been taken over by the Chinese,” Gandhi said.
They also said that many of the patrolling points that used to be in Indian territory are now firmly in Chinese hands, he said.
Rahul was responding to a question a day after External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said some people deliberately spread wrong news about the China issue, knowing it is not true, for politics and by talking about some land, which was taken by China in 1962, they give the impression this happened recently - comments that are viewed as a dig at Gandhi.
“Sometimes, they talk about some land, which was taken by China in 1962. But they will not tell you the truth. They will give you the impression that this thing happened yesterday,” he had said without taking names. Rahul Gandhi has been raising the issue of Chinese aggression along the Line of Actual Control, alleging that Indian land has been occupied.
The Bharat Jodo Yatra led by Rahul Gandhi concluded on Sunday at Sonwar amid tight security arrangements. Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said the Yatra has spread the message of love to every corner of the country and urged the party's supporters to unite to take the nation forward.
Challenging Union Home Minister Amit Shah about law and order situation in Kashmir, Rahul said if the situation is so good in J&K, then he should walk to Srinagar's Lal Chowk from Jammu.
“There are targeted killings in the state, bomb blasts happening, what security personnel are talking indicates that the situation is not good... if the BJP thinks so, why doesn't Amit Shah walk to Lal Chowk from Jammu,” he
said.
The mainstream Kashmiri leaders belonging to the National Conference and the Peoples Democratic Party, however, stayed away from the flag ceremony.
During the press conference Rahul Gandhi also targeted the ruling party and accused them of attacking the institutions. “I think what the RSS & BJP are doing is attacking the institutional framework of the country, judiciary, media etc. What you see in J&K is the same assault. When we talk in the parliament our mics are muted. I want to talk about GST, China… but you can’t. It’s happening all across the country in different ways. As far as I’m concerned I’m very clear, the first step should be the restoration of statehood and democratic rights.”
Expressing his gratitude for the welcome he received in J & K, Rahul also said that statehood and restoration of the democratic process is fundamental and very important. He also said that if the situation is normal then why doesn't Amit Shah walk from Jammu to Kashmir and unfurl the tricolor at Lal Chowk?
