Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU/SRINAGAR, July 12: The Jammu and Kashmir Congress today held a silent protest as part of the party’s country-wide “Maun Satyagraha” programme, to express solidarity with party ice president, Rahul Gandhi after the Gujarat High Court dismissed his plea seeking a stay on his conviction in the 2019 defamation case.
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Senior Congress leaders and party activists took part in the protest both in Srinagar and Jammu today.
Joint secretary AICC in-charge J&K affairs of the party, Manoj Yadav, said the ‘Satyagraha’ is against the behaviour of the Narendra Modi Government towards Gandhi.
“Gandhi did Bharat Jodo Yatra from Kanyakumari to Kashmir. He raised the voice of the people against the Modi Government. While Gandhi highlighted the problems of the people, it pained the Modi Government. So, Rahul got the maximum sentence. His Lok Sabha membership was cancelled within 24 hours under a conspiracy. His residence was snatched within 48-62 hours,” Yadav told media-persons at JKPCC office Srinagar.
“The Government used all ploys, misused agencies to suppress his voice, but it is not Rahul Gandhi’s voice only, it is the voice of 130 crore Indians,” he said.
To a question about the Supreme Court hearing the pleas challenging the revocation of Article 370, the Congress leader said the party leaders have spoken over the issue and made their stand clear.
“It is a sub-judice matter. We are waiting for the judgement and we hope that, we have faith in the judiciary, that justice will be done with the people of Kashmir,” he said.
J&K Congress president Vikar Rasool Wani and working president Raman Bhalla led the protest at Satwari Chowk in Jammu in front of Mahatma Gandhi’s Statue.
Carrying placards of slogans – Rahul Gandhi Aage Bado, Hum Tumhare Sath Hain, the leaders and activists bore black strips on their mouth and put a day long silent dharna at Gandhi statue.
“We are here in full support of our leader Rahul Gandhi. We held a silent protest against BJP’s vendetta politics against Gandhi. They have engineered conspiracy against him,” party spokesperson Ravinder Sharma said.
Rahul Gandhi fearlessly raised the voice of the common man, poor, youths and women, and against those who have been looting the taxpayers’ money, he said.
Earlier, speaking to reporters, at dharna site, JKPCC chief Vikar Rasool Wani said that nationwide silent Satyagrah is part of our continuous struggle to oppose and expose the vindictive politics of Modi Government and to protect democracy and Constitution. He said we express full support to our leader Rahul Gandhi for fighting the cause of common man of the country and the politics if vendetta, pro- rich and anti- poor and anti-youth policies of BJP.
The country is facing the worst inflation and unemployment in the country but Modi Government is busy in divisive and policies of polarisation for elections. The people of country are fed up and want change as is evident from Bharat Jodo Yatra and Karnataka and Himachal elections results.
Senior leaders, Ex-Dy CM Tara Chand, Mula Ram, Kanta Bhan, Ravinder Sharma, Balwan Singh,Yogesh Sawhney, Manmohan Singh, Shabir Ahmed Khan, T S Bajwa, Ved Mahajan, Thakur Balbir Singh, Indu Pawar, Vinod Sharma, Hari Singh Chib, Krishan Bhagat, Gurbachan Rana, Shashi Sharma, Pawan Raina, Narinder Sharma, Pranab Shagotra, Narinder Gupta, Pankaj Dogra, Rajesh Sadhotra, Gurdarshan Singh, Amolak Singh, Sanjeev Panda, Gurmeet Singh Kuldeep Verma, Kapil Singh, Vijay Sharma (Sewa Dal), Ajay Lakhotra, Babbal Gupta, Vijay Shastri and many others joined the protest.