Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge arrived in Srinagar on Wednesday for a two-day visit to the Union Territory to assess the party’s preparations for the upcoming assembly elections and discuss a possible alliance with the National Conference.
When the Congress leaders arrived here, they were greeted with a thunderous welcome from party workers and fans who lined up outside the airport. The exuberant supporters even stopped Gandhi’s vehicle on the airport route, causing some anxiety among the security officials escorting him.
The two leaders are in the UT for critical meetings ahead of the three-phased assembly elections, which begin on September 18, according to a senior Congress leader.
There were no official meetings scheduled for the two leaders for Wednesday, he said.
The two leaders will engage in extensive discussions with party leaders and workers of 10 districts of the Kashmir valley on Thursday. The meetings will begin at 10 am after which the two are likely to interact with the media here.
They are also likely to meet National Conference (NC) leadership to discuss a possible pre-poll alliance, party sources said.
However, Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee president Tariq Karra said the visit of the two leaders was planned well before the election schedule was announced. “This visit has no relation to (discussions on) the alliance.” After wrapping up interactions here, Mr Gandhi and Mr Kharge will fly to Jammu to continue their interactions with the cadres of 10 districts in the Jammu region.
The two leaders will take feedback from party workers about the grassroots-level preparations for the elections which are being held in the UT after a gap of ten years, a Congress leader said.
“This programme was decided even before the declaration of the election (dates) and only dates were to be finalised. This programme by Rahul ji and party president is to interact with the party workers so they are here,” Karra told reporters outside Hotel Lalit where the Congress’ central leaders are staying.
Asked about any invitation to PDP for a meeting with the leaders, Karra said such things happen after internal discussions and decisions within the party. “I cannot say anything on that,” he added.
He said the Congress party’s stand is that “we are open (for alliance) to all forces, parties and persons who oppose the BJP”.
“We are ready to talk to all the like-minded parties,” Karra said.
Meanwhile, the BJP asked Rahul Gandhi to clear his party’s stand on Article 370 and Article 35A during his visit.
BJP general secretary Tarun Chugh, who is his party’s organizational in-charge for the Union Territory, said Rahul Gandhi’s visit will introduce him to the “peace and development” ushered in the region by the government headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He claimed that three families, referring to the leadership of the Congress, the National Conference, and the PDP, had fuelled the flames of separatism and terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir with their policies for decades before the BJP government at the Centre turned things around in 2014.
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Source: NDTV
