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60 leaders from DAP, other parties join Congress in Jammu
AICC incharge for Jammu and Kashmir Rajni Patil said NC president Farooq Abdullah, his son Omar Abdullah, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut, CPI(M) leader MY Tarigami, Awami National Conference leader Muzaffar Shah and others will join the Bharat Jodo Yatra on January 19 at Lakhanpur
Sixty leaders from Ghulam Nabi Azad’s Democratic Azad Party (DAP) and other outfits joined the Congress in the presence of AICC incharge for Jammu and Kashmir Rajni Patil here on Tuesday.
They were brought into the party fold by former Pradesh Congress Committee president Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed, former deputy CM Tara Chand and Thakur Balwan Singh, who had recently rejoined the party in Delhi.
Patil, meanwhile, took a pot shot at the DAP and said, “I feel that we are freeing people (from Azad) and will bring them back with us.”
Likening Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra to Mahatma Gandhi’s Dandi March, Patil said, “The biggest programme of the yatra will be held at Srinagar on January 30 where he will unfurl the tricolour at the party headquarters.”
She said several prominent leaders from various political parties will join the rally. “NC president Farooq Abdullah, his son Omar Abdullah, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut, CPI(M) leader MY Tarigami, Awami National Conference leader Muzaffar Shah and others will join the yatra on January 19 at Lakhanpur,” she added.
“It is not a political yatra, but a social one with an aim of Nafarat Chhodo, Bharat Jodo. It will also highlight sufferings of people from the unprecedented price hike, large-scale unemployment and other local issues such as the recent eviction of the poor,” Patil said.
Visit of Rahul Gandhi to J&K comes at a time when the region is witnessing a spike in terror strikes and targeted killings.
Responding to a query, Patil said, “The route plan and other details are being shared with the UT administration and security agencies for their advice and foolproof coordination.”
