Srinagar: Congress member of Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi’s India Unity Yatra, which has reached Kashmir, was halted midway on Friday. The Congress party has alleged that the reason for this was the lack of security arrangements.
From Kanyakumari to Kashmir, Rahul Gandhi’s India Unity Yatra is passing through its final leg, Jammu. After a short break the pilgrimage resumed from Banihal on Friday morning. In today’s yatra, former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir and President of the National Conference Omar Abdullah took part in the walk.
Rahul Gandhi, who participated in the yatra on Friday morning, wore the white t-shirt he always wears in this yatra despite the bitter cold prevailing in Jammu. Congress workers from the locality gave him a welcome by dancing to the sound of drums.
The yatra was scheduled to cover a distance of 20 km, but the yatra was halted halfway through entering the Kashmir Valley. He was crossing south Kashmir on foot via the highway. The threat of terrorism has been around for a long time in this area. The yatra was stopped when the senior officials of the police informed him about it. Many, including Jammu and Kashmir Governor Manoj Sinha, had assured security for the Yatra. This was also confirmed by the Governor.
Rahul Gandhi comments: “Unfortunately, I had to stop my walk mid-way due to a complete breakdown of police security arrangements. As we exited the tunnel, police security completely collapsed. This put my safety at risk. So we had to stop the pilgrimage. Because I could not go beyond my security guards. Control the crowd. “It is the duty of the district administration to make arrangements. I am sure that proper security arrangements will be made for the remaining days of the yatra,” he said.
“I am a witness to this. The outer ring of security provided by the Jammu and Kashmir Police disappeared shortly after Rahul Gandhi started walking. We were expecting to enter Kashmir from Jammu and walk 11 km. But unfortunately we had to stop halfway,” Omar Abdullah said on his Twitter page. .
A security flaw? – Security officials were suddenly briefed during the pilgrimage. The district administration failed to manage the meeting. Rahul Gandhi was stuck in the crowd for 30 minutes. Later, the Congress party alleged that he was brought in a bulletproof vehicle.
Congress party’s Venugopal said, “The police dispersed when we punished the Banihal mine. Who ordered it? The authorities should give a proper response to this security lapse and ensure that this does not happen in the future.”
Lapse in Shri @RahulGandhi‘s security detail in Jammu & Kashmir during #BharatJodoYatra is disconcerting to say the least.
It is GOI’s prime responsibility to provide security.
India has already lost two PM’s and scores of leaders & we demand better security for the Yatris.
— Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) January 27, 2023
Police Denial: Denying these allegations, senior police officer Vijayakumar said, “There is no security lapse. The organizers of the yatra did not inform us about a large gathering. They did not consult us before stopping the yatra.”
Meanwhile, traffic on the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway was suspended as part of security arrangements for the Yatra. Similarly, the police informed that the train traffic between Baramulla and Banihal was stopped in the morning. Earlier, the Yatra was canceled due to landslides and bad weather on Wednesday.
