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The National flag was hoisted at Congress office in Srinagar on 30 January at the closing ceremony of the Bharat Jodo Yatra in the presence of party president Mallikarjun Kharge and party leader Rahul Gandhi.
The closing ceremony of the Bharat Jodo Yatra will be held today i.e. on 30 January at the party headquarters and a rally at the Sher-e-Kashmir stadium where several Opposition leaders are also likely to be present, as reported by PTI.
The "padyatra" had concluded on Sunday at the Lal Chowk area after with Rahul Gandhi unfurled the national flag. However, the official closing would take place on Monday in Srinagar. The yatra traversed 12 states and two Union territories in nearly five months after its launch on September 7 last year, clocking over 4,000 km.
During the course of the yatra, Gandhi addressed 12 public meetings, over 100 corner meetings, 13 press conferences. He had over 275 planned walking interactions and more than 100 sitting interactions.
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Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge will unfurl the national flag at the Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee headquarters and also unveil a memorial for the Bharat Jodo Yatra. The rally would take place after that.
However, the event may get affected amid heavy snowfall in Kashmir. Moderate to heavy snowfall was recorded in the plains of Kashmir, while the higher reaches experienced heavy to very heavy falls. The officials told PTI that said Srinagar received about seven inches of fresh snowfall, Gulmarg more than a feet, Pahalgam nine inches, Gurez 1.5 feet and the plains of Kupwara district around four inches. In the upper reaches, it was around one-two feet. The Srinagar-Jammu National Highway was closed for traffic due to snow and landslides at many places along the arterial road. The officials said the bad weather affected air traffic to and from the valley as flight operations at the Srinagar airport were suspended.
Earlier, Kharge had extended invitations to the presidents of over 20 parties, including Trinamool Congress (TMC), Janata Dal (United), Shiv Sena, Telugu Desam Party, National Conference (NC), Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, Communist Party of India (CPI), Communist Party of India (Marxist), Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Rashtriya Janata Dal, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Nationalist Congress Party, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Rashtriya Lok Dal, Indian Union Muslim League, Revolutionary Socialist Party and Janata Dal (Secular). Some party leaders have expressed their inability to be present at the rally while some would send their representatives.
Parties such as NC, PDP, CPI, CPI(M), Shiv Sena and DMK are likely to have a presence at the rally.
Gandhi on Sunday said at a press conference here that the Bharat Jodo Yatra went from South to North but it has had a countrywide effect, and asserted that the march gave an alternative vision to the country.
When asked whether he would undertake a west to east yatra in future, Gandhi said, "It has just ended. So, this question is premature. Yatris have walked thousands of kilometres, let us see what happens. Yatra went from south to north but its effect was on the entire country."
The former Congress chief said it did not just remain a Congress party yatra, as more than partymen and women, common people participated in the march. Personalities like
"The Bharat Jodo Yatra has given an alternative vision. One vision is of the BJP-RSS that is filled with hate and arrogance. Our vision is about brotherhood, about opening shops of love in the market of hate, giving respect to each other," he said.
As Gandhi unfurled the tricolour at the historic clock tower of Lal Chowk, Jammu and Kashmir BJP president Ravinder Raina said the credit for Gandhi unfurling the national flag goes to Modi who normalised the situation in the Valley with the abrogation of Article 370.
"After 70 years, a member of the Nehru-Gandhi family has remembered to hoist the Tricolour at Srinagar's Lal Chowk. PM Modi and HM Shah get the credit for the fact that Rahul Gandhi could hoist the national flag there amid peace and brotherhood," said he added.
(With inputs from agencies)
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