Farooq Abdullah, Mehbooba Mufti to join Bharat Jodo Yatra

Samaan Lateef

Srinagar, December 27

Top politicians from secular parties will join Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra that is likely to enter Jammu and Kashmir on January 22, said All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary KC Venugopal.

Venugopal said the history of the Congress was “very much connected to Kashmir’s history” and all like-minded people who don’t believe in the “divisive politics of the BJP” would join the march in J&K.

“I am happy to say that Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah, Mehbooba Mufti and MY Tarigami all are ready to join the yatra. That is the happiest moment for all of us,” Venugopal told the media here.

The week-long programme will start in J&K on January 22 and culminate on January 30, he said.

Venugopal, who was here to review the preparations for the J&K leg of the yatra, accused the BJP of trying to stop Rahul’s unity march by invoking the “drama of Covid protocol”.

“We are also concerned about the health of people. The entire drama (Covid protocol) has been started to stop the yatra. Flights are coming from China and there is no problem. There is no national-level protocol suggested by WHO. Then why only target Rahul Gandhi and his yatra,” he said.

In Gujarat, a mela was being held in which lakhs of people were participating, he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was holding public meetings, but the BJP government was not talking about it, he said. “We are ready to follow the protocol if the government comes up with any in line with the WHO guidelines,” he said.

People’s Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti said she saluted Rahul Gandhi for undertaking the march to strengthen secular values.