Statehood And Ties Of Blood: Rahul Gandhi's Election Pitch In J&K
NDTV
The BJP has accused the Congress-National Conference alliance of being supported by militants.
Aiming to win over the people of Jammu and Kashmir ahead of the Assembly elections, which begin in less than two weeks, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi opted to mix a political pitch with an emotional one while kicking off his party's campaign in the Union Territory on Wednesday.
As Jammu and Kashmir sees its first election in nearly 10 years as well as its first as a Union Territory after it was stripped of its special status under Article 370 in 2019, Mr Gandhi made the restoration of statehood the central plank of his addresses on Wednesday while also reminding people of the ties of blood he and his family share with them, going as far back as his great-grandfather and India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.
Mr Gandhi, who is the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, also took a jibe at the J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha - and the BJP-led government at the Centre through him - by calling him a 'raja' (king).
