The Kanyakumari to Kashmir yatra started from the southern tip of the country on September 7 and will culminate today in Srinagar after 145 days and nearly 4,000 km later.
Afnan Habib | TwoCircles.net
SRINAGAR (JAMMU & KASHMIR) — Senior Congress leader and Member of Parliament Rahul Gandhi on Sunday hoisted the national flag at Ghanta Ghar (clock tower) in the Lal Chowk area of Srinagar.
Gandhi hoisted the flag in presence of a large gathering, including his sister and Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi.
LIVE: National flag hoisting at Lal Chowk, Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir. #BharatJodoYatra https://t.co/m9aDgs8GXI
— Congress (@INCIndia) January 29, 2023
Officials said that adequate security arrangements have been put in place in and around the commercial hub Lal Chowk for the Yatra.
Speaking about the change of plans, Congress General Secretary in-charge Communications, Jairam Ramesh tweeted, “Rahul Gandhi was supposed to unfurl the national flag on January 30th in PCC office, since permission to do so elsewhere wasn’t given. Last evening, the state administration allowed him to do so in Lal Chowk, but under the condition that it should be done today on the 29th at the end of Bharat Jodo Yatra.”
The Bharat Jodo Yatra is presently in its last leg and will culminate today at Nehru Park in the Boulevard area of Srinagar. Sunday will mark the last walking day of the yatra. On Monday, the party will hold a public rally attended by opposition parties and hoist the flag at the Congress party’s headquarters at Maulana Azad Road.
Earlier, Rahul Gandhi resumed the Yatra from the Pantha Chowk area towards Lal Chowk along with Priyanka Gandhi and hundreds of people.
The Yatra reached Pantha Chowk on Saturday after resuming from the Awantipora area of the Pulwama district.
Bharat Jodo Yatra’s J&K leg was significant as it met roadblocks with the party claiming an alleged security lapse at Banihal. As the Yatra was suspended on Friday amid an alleged security breach, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah seeking his intervention in ensuring adequate security for the yatra in Jammu and Kashmir.
Former Jammu Kashmir chief ministers such as PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah joined Gandhi in Awantipora and Banihal.
Afnan Habib is a freelance journalist based in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir. He tweets @afnanhabib