Congress leader Rahul Gandhi with Congress MP K.C. Venugopal and Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray faction) MP Sanjay Raut during the party’s ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’, in Kathua district on Friday | PTI photo
Srinagar- Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Friday said all necessary security arrangements have been made for the Jammu and Kashmir leg of the Bharat Jodo Yatra led by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
The march entered Kashmir on Thursday and will culminate with a rally in Srinagar on January 30.
“There will be no problem from the security point of view for the yatra. All security arrangements have been made,” Sinha told reporters after laying the foundation stone of a mega housing project for Kashmir migrant employees under the PM package at Zewan, 12 km from here.
The march started from Kanyakumari on September 7.
On the eviction drive launched by the union territory administration, the LG said ordinary and poor people do not need to fear it.
“Action is being taken against influential people who misused their positions and violated the rules to occupy large tracts of lands,” he added.
On the housing project for Kashmiri migrant employees, he said the administration is trying to resolve the difficulties being faced by them.
“Last time we had started efforts for making accommodation for Kashmiri migrants in Bandipora and Baramulla. The maximum number of Kashmir migrant employees is in Srinagar. So today we have started a mega housing project for them in Srinagar. The chief engineer has said the project (930 flats) will be completed by December this year,” Sinha said.
The LG said the administration was sensitive to the genuine issues of the Kashmiri migrant employees and trying to resolve their problems, whether in Kashmir or in Jammu.
“The administration has been in touch with them and we are solving their genuine problems. There was a time when the posts used to be vacant but now all posts have been filled. Earlier, land was not available for housing but now work has started at all places. Twelve hundred flats will be ready soon and 1,800 flats will be ready by end of the December,” he added.
He said from the security point of view, the administration, in consultation with the police, has posted these employees at “appropriate places”.
Congress Wants Admin To Take Call On Yatra Route
The Congress wants to take the Bharat Jodo Yatra, led by Rahul Gandhi, through the interiors of the Kashmir valley, but has left the decision on the route of the foot march to security agencies and the Jammu and Kashmir administration, party leader Chetan Chauhan has said here.
“We have carried out reconnaissance and submitted two routes — one through the national highway and another through the interiors of Kashmir. Now it is up to security officials and the administration whether they will allow us or not,” Chauhan told PTI as the yatra entered Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday.
He said the Congress has not released the yatra’s route plan in Kashmir due to security reasons.
“We have not released the route of this yatra in Kashmir (yet) because we have not received a clearance from the security officials so far,” he added.
Chauhan, the All India Congress Committee (AICC) coordinator, is here to review the arrangements for the yatra, which is likely to enter the valley on January 27.
“Some hoardings have been installed. As the yatra comes closer to Kashmir, more will be installed,” he said.
The Congress leader said the yatra, which began from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu in September, will culminate in Srinagar on January 30, after covering a distance of almost 3,500 kilometres.
“On January 30, a huge rally will be held at the cricket stadium in Srinagar for which all preparations have been made. It will be a historical event. People are enthusiastic (about it),” he added.
Chauhan said 12 to 15 political parties of Jammu and Kashmir, including the National Conference (NC) and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), will join the yatra. “We are getting a huge response and support from the locals in the valley,” he said.
Chauhan said the aim of the Bharat Jodo Yatra is to counter the hate being spread in the country and raise the real issues being faced by people.
“Since the beginning of the yatra, the BJP has been trying to fool the country. This yatra is to create awareness about what the BJP has done to the country. Earlier, they did politics on (Gandhi’s) T-shirt, now they are saying it is the ‘Bharat Todo Yatra’. The BJP is not addressing the problems people are facing, such as unemployment and inflation. It is just trying to divert people’s attention from the real issues,” he added.
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