The much awaited last leg of the Rahul Gandhi led Bharat Jodo Yatra which kick started at Kanniyakumari in September last year, entered Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday. The 3500-km-long foot march traversing several States and vivid seasons and weather conditions will do its march in a hybrid mode like padyatra, vehicle convoys etc given the security reason.
Some Congress leaders are making efforts to cover even the Valley on foot march but some others are citing security concerns in such a scenario.
Rahul and his contingent entered Lakhanpur which is 90 km from Jammu to finally hoist the flag in Srinagar on January 30 on the occasion of Mahatma Gandhi’s martyrdom. Hundreds of people walked alongside the former Congress president. In a customary handover function, Punjab's Congress unit gave the party flag to a leader from the Jammu and Kashmir unit.
Addressing his first public meeting at Lakhanpur, Rahul said the government is indulging in mass pickpocketing by diverting the attention of people and then looting them. He listed hatred, violence, unemployment and price rise as the main issues confronting the country and blamed the media for not highlighting them.
Criticising the media for not focusing on the right issues, he said it uses topics such as Bollywood stars Aishwarya Rai and Akshay Kumar to divert the attention of people. Injecting a personal note, Rahul said his ancestors belonged to this land and he felt he was returning home.
"I am going back to my roots, I know the suffering of the people of Jammu and Kashmir and come to you with a bowed head," he said adding he has been walking about seven hours a day, covering 25 km each day, but nobody was tired as some people had predicted. "I later felt we are not feeling tired because people are pushing us forward. If someone falls, he is supported within seconds... Nobody is asking anyone what is your religion," he said.
Welcoming him into the union territory, National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah drew a parallel between the Shankaracharya and Rahul. "Many years ago, Shankaracharya had undertaken a yatra from Kanyakumari to Kashmir. And today you are doing it," Abdullah said.
The yatra is scheduled to pass J&K from January 19-30. "Rahul would undertake padyatra in Jammu and Kashmir but there would be no compromise with security. We are having a consultation with the state authorities regarding the security and maybe the distance on foot could be curtailed," said Congress chief spokesman Jairam Ramesh.
According to reports from Jammu, J&K DGP Dilbag Singh said adequate security will be provided to the march when it reaches the Union territory. The police said it will be regulated in such a manner that people do not face any inconvenience. He also asserted that the Yatra will be "guided from the security point of view as well wherever it is needed".