Guwahati: ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ led by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi culminated in Srinagar on Monday amid heavy snowfall.
At the party headquarters in Srinagar, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge raised the national flag. In the presence of Priyanka Gandhi and party MP Rahul Gandhi, the tricolour was raised.
Rahul Gandhi while addressing the gathering at the concluding function of the yatra said, “Security people had told me to go to Kashmir in a vehicle and not on foot. Few days back, the administration 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.”
Rahul Gandhi continued by telling the tale of four kids he encountered while on the Bharat Jodo Yatra describing them as beggars who didn’t wear sweaters and shivered in the cold, which motivated him to avoid doing the same while on the yatra.
Meanwhile, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra while addressing the crowd in the closing ceremony of the foot-march said, “My brother walked for about five months from Kanniyakumari to Kashmir. Wherever they went, people came out for them. The reason is that there still remains a passion in this country-for the county, for this land, for its diversity that resides in hearts of all Indians.”
“When my brother was coming to Kashmir, he sent a message to my mother. He said he has a unique feeling of going home. He said his family members are waiting for him,” Vadra further said.
It may be mentioned that, the yatra led by Rahul Gandhi started in Kanyakumari on September 7 last year. The foot-march was 3,570 kilometres long and stretched for over 150 days.