Farooq Abdullah, Mufti will join BJY: Venugopal in J-K

SRINAGAR: Congress leader KC Venugopal on Tuesday said that Opposition leaders in Jammu and Kashmir including former chief ministers Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah, and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti will join the Bharat Jodo Yatra in the valley next year.

The Congress leader's announcement comes after meeting J-K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha which was in connection with the Bharat Jodo Yatra led by Rahul Gandhi.

"We'll hoist the national flag in Kashmir. We had a meeting with Jammu and Kashmir LG and he offered all sorts of cooperation. NC leaders Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti and CPM leader MY Tarigami will join the yatra," Venugopal said.

He termed the party's Bharat Jodo Yatra as a "national padayatra". Earlier on Monday, former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and People's Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti applauded the Congress' Bharat Jodo Yatra.

Mufti taking a swipe at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said that the new government during the last 8 years has shaken all the foundations of this country and has made it weak, but Rahul Gandhi is out to save the foundations of the country.

"I salute Rahul Gandhi for launching this mass campaign that will save the foundation, culture and brotherhood of the country. He has gone to unite this country, to strengthen the heritage of this country," said Mufti.

Further hitting out at the BJP for calling out Congress' Bharat Jodo Yatra amid the rise in Covid cases globally, Venugopal said, "We are very much concerned about the health of the people of this country and the Covid situation as well. This entire drama (of Covid spread) is created to stop the Bharat Jodo Yatra."

"Flights are coming from China, there is no problem. There is no national-level Covid protocol suggested by the World Health Organisation (WHO). The PM is attending public meetings and all other government programmes are happening everywhere... there is no problem," he added.

Recently, in a letter to Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya asked them to follow the Covid guidelines strictly during the Yatra.

"Follow the Covid guidelines strictly during Bharat Jodo Yatra which is going on in Rajasthan. Use of masks-sanitiser should be implemented. Only vaccinated people should participate," the Health minister said in the letter on Tuesday. Reacting to this, Rahul Gandhi claimed that the government for making excuses to stop the 'Bharat Jodo Yatra'. "It's their (BJP) new idea, they wrote to me saying Covid is coming and stop the Yatra. All these are excuses to stop this Yatra," said Rahul while addressing a rally in Haryana's Nuh district on Thursday.