Congress leader and Member of Parliament Rahul Gandhi on Monday said that he can understand the pain of Kashmiris, security forces better than BJP and RSS members.
Amid snowfall in Srinagar, Opposition party leaders joined Rahul Gandhi as he marked the culmination of the Bharat Jodo Yatra. Leaders of DMK, NC, PDP, CPI, RSP and IUML were present for the event
Addressing the mega rally in SK Stadium in Srinagar on the culmination of Bharat Jodi Yatra, he said his family had faced the violence and can understand better.
He said BJP members could not walk like this in Jammu and Kashmir because “they are scared”.
Gandhi said 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 was 14 years old when my Grandmother was shot dead and 7 years after that episode my father was also killed. I can understand pain of hundreds of Kashmiris, security forces who lost their beloved in violence. Whenever it was in Pulwama or along borders. Modi Ji, Amit Shah Ji and Doval Ji will not understand this pain but we can,” he said.
Gandhi said his family and Gandhi ji had taught him to live fearlessly, otherwise, that is not living. But it happened just as I expected, the people of J&K didn’t give me a grenade but only love.
“Security people had told me to go to Kashmir in a vehicle & not on foot. 3-4 days back, admin told me that if I go on foot, grenade would be hurled at me…I thought to give an opportunity to those who hate me, to change colour of my white t-shirt to red,” he said.
Rahul Gandhi said during the Yatra he learned a lot and met hundreds of people across the country.
“One day, I was in a lot of pain. I thought I’ve to walk for 6-7 hrs more & it’ll be difficult. But a young girl came running to me & said that she has written something for me. She hugged me & ran away. I started reading it,” he said.
Gandhi said he did not do the Yatra for himself or Congress, the aim is to stand against an ideology that wants to destroy the foundation of the country.
He also spoke about of love and Kashmiriyat, apart from a number of issues in the country that transformed his viewpoint.
