Jammu & Kashmir admin grants permission for Bharat Joda Yatra rally in Srinagar

The Jammu and Kashmir administration has granted permission for a mega rally to mark the culmination of the Rahul Gandhiled Bharat Jodo Yatra at Srinagars ShereKashmir Stadium on January 30 a senior Congress leader said on TuesdayAICC JampK Incharge Rajni Patil said leaders of 23 political parties from across the country and people from abroad were expected to take part in the rallyWe have received permission from the Jammu and Kashmir administration for the January 30 rally at ShereKashmir park in Srinagar The yatras Jammu and Kashmir leg will be the most successful with massive participation of people Patil told reportersAlso read BJP RSS captured all institutions in country Rahul GandhiShe said the yatra had generated tremendous response from the first dayThe march which started from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu on September 7 will conclude with Gandhi hoisting the national flag in Srinagar It has so far covered Tamil Nadu Kerala Karnataka Andhra Pradesh Telangana Maharashtra Madhya Pradesh Rajasthan Delhi Uttar Pradesh Haryana and PunjabThe yatra will enter Lakhanpur in Jammu and Kashmir from Punjab on Thursday evening The flag handover ceremony will take place near Maharaja Gulab Singhs statue between 545 pm and 615 pmAfter halting for the night Gandhi will lead the yatra from Hatli Morh in Kathua from 7 am the next morning Patil saidThe rally will reach Jammu on January 23 We are planning a rally in the city and have applied for permission from the administration We are hopeful of getting it as well the Congress leader saidShe said a Congress delegation met the Additional DirectorGeneral of Police on Tuesday and discussed in detail the yatras security aspectsNational Conference President Farooq Abdullah Shiv Sena UBT MP Sanjay Raut and leaders of other parties will join the yatra in Lakhanpur Patil said adding former minister Lal Singh had also expressed his desire to welcome the yatraNational Conference VicePresident Omar Abdullah will join the yatra after it crosses the Banihal tunnel into Kashmir while Peoples Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti has informed that she and her mother and daughter would also join she saidPatil said anyone who believed in Gandhis ideology of uniting the country and the philosophy of the Congress were welcome to be part of the yatraShe said many people had expressed reservations about the response to the foot march in Jammu and Kashmir but I want to tell them that the yatra will be a grand success here as well like it generated the response while moving from various statesThe Congress leader said Gandhi would leave Jammu for Kashmir on January 24 crossing Udhampur and Ramban townsAsked whether the Congress expected any leaders to join the party during the yatra she said Gandhi had made it clear that the march was apolitical and only meant to unite the country against hatredHowever the party will inform Gandhi about pressing issues such as the governments land eviction drive and the demands of Kashmiri Pandits she addedSeveral delegations are also expected to meet Gandhi during the yatra Patil said A 40member delegation from Ladakh will brief the Congress leader about their problems she addedGandhi is also likely to address two press conferences one each in Jammu and Srinagar