NEW DELHI, Apr 25: The Congress leader and Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi, who on Friday held a series of meetings in Srinagar and met the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack, said the entire Opposition would support whatever action the Centre wanted to take in retaliation to the massacre of the tourists.
“The entire people of J&K have condemned this terrible action, and they’ve fully supported the nation. I met one of the people who was injured. The idea behind what has happened is to divide society, to make brother fight brother. And it is very important that every single Indian stands united, stands together, so that we can defeat what the terrorists were trying to do,” Mr Gandhi said.
Mr Gandhi said everybody needed to know that the whole nation was standing together as one. “We had a meeting yesterday with the government, and the United Opposition condemned this action and said that we are there to support whatever action the government wants to take,” he added.
The Congress leader arrived in Srinagar on Friday and met J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. He also visited the Army hospital in Srinagar where the Pahalgam attack victims were being treated. Later, he held a series of meetings with tourism stakeholders and students.
“I came here to get a sense of what is going on and to help,” Mr Gandhi said. After meeting Mr Gandhi, Dr Tawseef Bhat, president of the Kashmir Traders and Manufacturers, said, “Mr Gandhi was cordial with us. We wanted to convey that we are also Indians and peace loving.”
A delegation of the Jammu and Kashmir Students Association also met the LoP. The delegation, led by Nasir Khuehami, shared a ground-level account of the growing insecurity and psychological trauma faced by Kashmiri students, especially in the wake of surcharged national events and divisive political rhetoric.
Mr Gandhi expressed concern over the spate of incidents and underlined the need to “stand together, stay united, and fight this nasty and divisive mindset.” “We must defeat hate in all its forms and confront terrorism with unity, not by targeting the innocent,” the Congress leader told the students delegation.
(Manas Dasgupta)
