Former Chief Ministers of Jammu & Kashmir Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah on the final day of Congress's Bharat Jodo Yatra hailed Rahul Gandhi for his efforts to "restore harmony" in the nation. Addressing a public meeting in Srinagar amid heavy snowfall on Monday, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti said that "Godse ideology must be removed from India", and the hope for that lay with the Congress MP. She also told Rahul Gandhi that Jammu & Kashmir was his home.
"Rahul, you said you've come to Kashmir your home. It's your home. I hope what the Godse ideology snatched from J&K and this nation will be restored. Gandhiji said he can see a ray of hope in Jammu & Kashmir. Today, the nation can see a ray of hope in Rahul Gandhi," Mehbooba Mufti was quoted as saying by news agency ANI. Mufti earlier participated in the Bharat Jodo Yatra and walked with Rahul Gandhi in Awantipora on Saturday.
Jammu & Kashmir National Conference leader Omar Abdullah also praised Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra and said: "It has been a very successful yatra. The nation needed this. It has proven that there are people who like BJP and there are people who want a new government for harmony. These people want to live in peace and love with each other —something which the BJP can't give."
Abdullah had joined the Bharat Jodo Yatra in Banihal, Jammu & Kashmir on Friday.
Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi on Monday said the aim of the Bharat Jodo Yatra was to save the liberal and secular ethos of the country. "I have not done this (Yatra) for myself or for the Congress but for the people of the country. Our aim is to stand against the ideology that wants to destroy the foundation of this country," he said at a rally here to mark the culmination of the 136-day march.
"Those who incite violence — like [PM Narendra] Modiji, [Union Home Minister] Amit Shahji, the BJP, and the RSS — will never understand the pain of getting a call informing the family of a loved one," he said.
He was talking about getting the news of the assassination of his grandmother and father — former Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi — over the phone. The family of a slain Army jawan will understand, the family of the CRPF personnel killed in Pulwama will understand, and Kashmiris will understand the pain of one getting that call.
"The aim of the yatra is to end the phone calls announcing the deaths of loved ones — be it a soldier, a CRPF jawan, or any Kashmiri," he added.
(With inputs from PTI.)