Bharat Jodo Yatra will have a good impact in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), former J&K Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand said on January 8, 2023 amid a recent spike in targeted terror killings of Kashmiri Pandits and other members of the Hindu community.
The Yatra, right now passing through Haryana, is expected to enter the Jammu region around January 20 after traveling through Punjab and Himachal Pradesh. Before its entry security sensitive areas, top Congress leaders have held discussions with the J&K administration as well as Punjab government regarding providing fool proof security.
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Speaking to The Hindu over phone, the former J&K Deputy Chief Minister, who rejoined Congress after leaving Ghulam Nabi Azad’s Democratic Azad Party (DAP) on Friday, said the yatra will help build bridges between communities.
“The yatra will have a great impact in J&K,”Mr Tara Chand said, adding,”All the communities, be it Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Buddhists, got together to fight the British and become a free nation. The nation has been built by everyone and today we stand among the most powerful nations”.
The Kanniyakumari to Kashmir padaytra that started on September 7 last year is expected to end on January 30, with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi hoisting the national flag at Srinagar.
Top political leaders from the valley like Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah (National Conference), Mehbooba Mufti (PDP), Mohd Yousuf Tarigami (CPI-M) have confined their participation in the Srinagar leg of the yatra.
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“This will send a very good message to the people of the Kashmir valley as well as Jammu and to the rest of the country,”Mr Tara Chand said.
Asked about the recent spike in targeted killings of Hindus in the Valley, he said,”From the time of our government, Kashmiri Pandits and other Hindu employees have been there in the Valley. But such selective killing is a recent phenomenon. I would request the administration to shift them [Hindus] to the Jammu region as life is more important than livelihood”.
Last month, Congress general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal had called on J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to discuss the security arrangements.
A senior government official told*The Hindu*that the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) commandos who provide proximate security cover to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi are “rotated every day”. As a person with Z plus security cover, Mr Gandhi is protected by 8-10 CRPF commandos who form his proximate ring.
Three days before the yatra reaches J,&K, a CRPF team will reach there and hold detailed discussions with the local administration and police regarding the requirements. Depending on the requirements, women commandos are also deployed.
“The security box or the main vehicle is provided by the CRPF, the additional forces and arrangements are done by the local police on request of the CRPF. We will be following the same drill in J&K. When the individual is exposed, as in this case, challenges mount, but we have safeguards in place,” the official said.
Intelligence agencies officials said they were monitoring the situation and as of now there doesn’t seem to be any “specific threat” to the Yatra in J&K.
“From law and order aspect, as several political leaders are expected to join Mr. Gandhi in J&K, a watch will have to be kept, but no specific chatter to suggest any serious threat to the Yatra,” the second official said.
Published - January 08, 2023 04:17 pm IST
