Rahul Gandhi says he's 'Kashmiri Pandit'; promises to help his brothers in J&K

Reaching out to the displaced Kashmiri Pandits, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday said he belongs to their community and feels 'at home' whenever he visits Jammu and Kashmir. Gandhi, who is on a two-day visit to Jammu, said that he understands the pain of Kashmiri Pandits and promised to help all of them.

“Today morning, a delegation of Kashmiri Pandit brothers had came to visit me. When the members of the delegation were talking to me, it came to my mind that I am also a part of this community. I told my Kashmiri Pandit brothers that I will prove this by helping you. I do not tell lies,” Gandhi said while addressing Congress office-bearers and workers at a party event.

He further accused the BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) of trying to break the composite culture of J&K and said that both the organizations are “ruining” the love and brotherhood that exists among the people of the Union Territory.

Kashmiri Pandits were forced to flee the Kashmir Valley to Jammu and other parts of India in the early 1990s soon after the militancy outbreak in the region. Gandhi accused the BJP-led central government of making fake promises to migrant Kashmiri Pandits.

“A delegation of Kashmiri Pandits told me that a promise of providing Rs 25 lakh compensation has not been fulfilled yet. It was the Congress that announced the compensation for the Kashmiri Pandits,” he said.

The Congress leader said that he feels at home when he visits Jammu and Kashmir.

“I had said in Srinagar that whenever I come here I feel that I have come home. Yesterday, I had gone to offer prayers at the Mata Vaishnodevi temple (in Reasi district) and I felt at home," he said

“Jammu and Kashmir, which was a state, but now is a Union Territory, has a very old relation with my family,” said Gandhi.

Rahul Gandhi walks 13 km to Mata Vaishnodevi temple

On Thursday, Rahul Gandhi walked 13 km to visit the Mata Vaishnodevi temple. The Congress politician undertook this journey from the Katra basecamp, on foot, to reach the cave shrine atop the Trikuta hills in Reasi district. After paying his respect and attending the 'aarti pujari' at the Bhawan, Gandhi interacted with the media and said that he did not want to make any 'political comments' on the occasion.  

This is his second visit to Jammu and Kashmir within a month. 

(With inputs from agency)