JOIN USOmar Abdullah joins Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra in Banihal
As Congress leader Rahul Gandhi led Bharat Jodo Yatra resumed after one day halt due to bad weather, former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Omar Abdullah on Friday joined the yatra near Banihal area on the Srinagar-Jammu national highway.
Both Rahul and Omar were seen wearing white T-shirts as the yatra resumed from highway town Banihal, 120 kms from here, this morning towards Kashmir under heavy security cover.
Talking to reporters Omar said the Rahul-led march is not being carried out for the image makeover of the Congress leader, “but rather to change the situation and atmosphere of the country.”
“I joined the yatra as I am more concerned about the image of the country. Rahul did not start the yatra for personal reasons but due to his concern over the attempts to create communal tensions and target minorities in the country,” he said.
Taking a dig at Narendra Modi led BJP-government at the Center, Abdullah scion said, “This government might be making friends with Arab countries but the fact remains that there is no representative in this government from the largest minority (Muslims) of the country.”
“It might be for the first time since Independence that the ruling party does not have a single member of Parliament from the Muslim community. It shows their attitude,” he rued.
On the Congress party’s stand on the abrogation of Article 370, the National Conference leader said, “We will fight the case in the court and the way the government is dragging its feet on the hearing of the petition tells us that our case is very strong.”
The yatra - which will halt for the night in south Kashmir’s Anantnag - will enter Kashmir Valley later today. So far the yatra has covered Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab.
The Congress has planned a massive rally at the Sher-e Kashmir Cricket Stadium in Srinagar to mark the end of the yatra. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has invited leaders from 22 Opposition parties for this event.