Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Friday trained his guns on the BJP saying that the saffron party wanted to snatch the lands of the people of Ladakh for Industrialist Gautam Adani. He also slammed PM Narendra Modi for allegedly "lying" about the Chinese army's encroachment in Ladakh. Rahul Gandhi is on a mass outreach tour in Ladakh and is touring the Union Territory on motorcycle.


Addressing a public meeting in Kargil, he said that Mahatma Gandhi's ideology is in the DNA of the people of Ladakh. "I toured all of Ladakh this time and I saw workers from different states working as labourers on various infrastructure and construction projects. I asked many of them if they found the locals of Ladakh supportive. All of them said 'this is a home away from home'... You [people of Ladakh] live in harmony just like the Congress's ideology." 


Rahul Gandhi went on to list the demands of the Kargil Democratic Alliance, which, he said was put forth by the locals. "Your first complaint is that you are not adequately represented after Ladakh became a Union Territory. Secondly, every youth says that Ladakh is the epicentre of unemployment. Third, connectivity is extremely poor and you want an airport."


He targeted the BJP over these demands, saying: "The BJP knows if you are adequately represented, then they won't be able to usurp your lands. The BJP only wants to snatch your lands and give them to [Gautam] Adani so that he can erect big factories."



He further slammed PM Narendra Modi over the alleged Chinese incursion. "Every person of Ladakh knows that Chinese have invaded our territory. But PM Modi blatantly lied and said that the Chinese have not encroached on our lands. Kargil is a strategic area and the contribution of the people here at every instance of Chinese aggression." 


Rahul Gandhi also said: "A few months ago, we walked from Kanyakumari to Kashmir, it was called 'Bharat Jodo Yatra. The aim was to stand against hatred & violence spread by BJP-RSS in the country...The message that came out of the Yatra was-'nafrat ke bazaar mein hum mohabbat ki dukaan kholne nikle hain'. In the last few days, I got to see this myself. At the time of the Yatra, I could not visit Ladakh due to snow in winter. It was in my heart to conduct the yatra in Ladakh and I took it forward this time on a motorbike."


Rahul Gandhi will attend the meeting of the united Opposition bloc, INDIA, in Mumbai on August 30 and September 1.