"Need Full Statehood For J&K, Assembly Elections": Rahul Gandhi In Srinagar

Two years ago Rahul Gandhi was stopped from visiting J&K - a delegation of Congress leaders that included him were turned back from Srinagar airport

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, making his first visit to Srinagar since the government scrapped special status for Jammu and Kashmir in August 2019, and split it into two union territories, has demanded restoration of J&K's statehood and the conduct of Assembly election. He also slammed the government for shutting down the opposition, saying that they were "shouted down whenever we want to raise the issue of J&K or Pegasus", and warned people of a "direct assault on Jammu and Kashmir, and an indirect assault on the rest of the country". Mr Gandhi said his visit was a homecoming of sorts, and said: "I want a relationship of dignity and love with people of Jammu and Kashmir who have faced pain and suffering... before Delhi, my family was living in Allahabad. Before that they were living in Kashmir..." "I understand you. My family has taken the water of Jhelum. Your customs and your thinking... which we call kashmiryat... is also in me," the Congress leader, said, vowing to fight and defeat "the ideology of fear and hatred (spread) by the BJP and RSS".