Rahul Gandhi unfurls tricolour at Lal Chowk in Kashmir
2 min read . Updated: 29 Jan 2023, 01:25 PM IST
Premium- Rahul Gandhi was accompanied by his sister and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and party leaders from Jammu and Kashmir for the flag hoisting
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday unfurled the national flag at Kashmir's Lal Chowk during Bharat Jodo Yatra. The Congress party took to Twitter and shared the video of the minister unfurling the flag at Srinagar's Lal Chowk.
The Congress leader drove to the Pradesh Congress Committee headquarters on Maulana Azad Road before heading to the clock tower, locally known as 'Ghanta Ghar,' to unfurl the national flag.
Gandhi was accompanied by his sister and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and party leaders from Jammu and Kashmir for the flag hoisting.
The whole area around Lal Chowk was sealed off and a multi-layer security ring was deployed around the city centre.
Rahul Gandhi resumed the final lap of the Bharat Jodo Yatra today from Srinagar's Pathanchowk. The yatra began at 10:45 am in his white trademark t-shirt.
After Lal Chowk, the yatra will travel to Nehru Park in the Boulevard area of the city, marking an end to the 4,080-km walkathon, which started from Kanyakumari on September 7 and traversed 75 districts across the country.
On Monday, Gandhi will unfurl the tricolour at the party headquarters on the M A Road here, following which a public rally will be held at the SK stadium, for which 23 opposition political parties have been invited.
The yatra which started from Kanyakumari on September 7 reached Pantha Chowk on the outskirts of Srinagar on Saturday.
With India’s national election less than 15 months away, Gandhi is trying to divert attention from Modi, who is angling for a third consecutive term. By stopping in the smallest and most remote of villages, Gandhi has sold himself as one among the masses, and as a leader capable of counteracting what government critics see as the BJP’s efforts to push Hindu majoritarian views in a secular nation.
“We will keep on opening shops of love in the bazaar of hate," Gandhi said at a press conference in the northern town of Hoshiarpur in Punjab. “The aim of the march is to stand against violence, unemployment, price rises, and income inequality."
But some political observers are still doubtful that Gandhi’s walk, which ends Monday in the city of Srinagar, will do much to dent the BJP’s dominance on the national stage -- unless the Congress Party figures out a way to widen its base. More than a third of respondents in a recent survey said the march created a buzz, but wouldn’t change India’s current political hierarchy.
Modi’s approval rating consistently hovers around 60% and party coffers are full. The BJP’s income for 2021 topped the combined wealth of the next seven largest national parties. The Congress Party holds just 52 of 543 seats in Lok Sabha while that of the BJP stands at 303.
