'Study Hard, Make Many Friends': Rahul Gandhi Interacts With School Children During Poonch Visit

Rahul Gandhi, Leader of Opposition, visited Poonch, J&K, following Pakistani shelling after Operation Sindoor. He met with victims, including schoolchildren at a local school.

Gandhi reassured them of normalcy, advising them to focus on studies, play, and friendship despite the difficult circumstances.

Source : PTI

Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi visited Jammu Kashmir's Poonch on Saturday to meet the victims of the Pakistani shelling in the aftermath of Operation Sindoor. The Congress MP reached a school where he interacted with schoolchildren assuring them that everything would come back to normal. 

"Don't worry everyting will come back to normal," he told the crowd of enthusiastic children. "Your way of responding to this problem should be that you study really hard, you play really hard, and you make lots of friends in school," he advised. 

This is the second visit by the Lok Sabha LoP to the Union Territory after the brutal April 22 terrorist attack in Pahalgam where 26 civilians were fatally shot from point-blank range. 

#WATCH | J&K | Lok Sabha LoP and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi visits a school in Poonch and interacts with the students affected by Pakistan's cross-border shelling.

He says "Now, you have seen danger and a little bit of a frightening situation, but don't worry, everything will come… pic.twitter.com/Brax5BWDVt

— ANI (@ANI) May 24, 2025

Indian armed forces launched Operation Sindoor in retaliation to the attack, targeting terror bases in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir. Islamabad resorted to heavy artillery shelling along the Line of Control and failed drone strike attempts. 

A total of 28 civilians were killed in the Pakistani shelling including 13 in Poonch district alone, and injured more than 70 between May 7 and 10 across Jammu and Kashmir.

India and Pakistan reached an understanding on May 10 to end the military confrontation after four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes.

After meeting the locals and families of the victims. Gandhi said, "This is a very big tragedy. Some people have died. I met people... interacted with them. I tried to understand the issues they were facing. They asked me to raise their issues at the national level... I will do that."