JAMMU, Jul 12: The Jammu and Kashmir Congress on Wednesday held a silent protest as part of the party’s country-wide ”maun satyagraha” programme to express solidarity with party leader Rahul Gandhi after the Gujarat High Court dismissed his plea seeking a stay on his conviction in the 2019 defamation case.
Senior Congress leaders and party activists took part in the protest both in Jammu and Srinagar.
Joint secretary AICC in-charge J-K, 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, he (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 PTI at the JKPCC headquarters at M A Road in 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 it (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 in Jammu in front of Mahatma Gandhi’s statue at Satwari Chowk in Jammu.
”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.