Rahul Gandhi could raise the flag in Srinagar because PM Modi abrogated Article 370, said BJP.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday said that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government has created such a situation in Kashmir that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi could raise the national flag at Lal Chowk in Srinagar. Speaking to ANI, BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad said Mr Gandhi could raise the flag because PM Modi abrogated Article 370.
"How could Rahul Gandhi peacefully raise the Tricolour at Srinagar's Lal Chowk today? It happened because PM Modi abrogated Article 370. Jammu and Kashmir received a high number of tourists. During the Congress government, there was terrorism and fear in Kashmir," said Mr Prasad yesterday.
BJP MP Rajyavardhan Rathore said that the Modi government has created such a situation in Kashmir that now any Indian citizen can raise the Tricolour at Lal Chowk in Srinagar.
"Rahul Gandhi proudly raised the Tricolour at Lal Chowk in Srinagar. Today, the Modi government has created such a situation in Kashmir that now any Indian citizen can hoist the Tricolour at Lal Chowk in Kashmir," he said.
Jammu and Kashmir BJP President Ravinder Raina said that PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah get the credit for the fact that Rahul Gandhi could raise the national flag there amid peace and brotherhood.
"After 70 years, a member of the Nehru-Gandhi family has remembered to raise the Tricolour at Srinagar's Lal Chowk. PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah get the credit for the fact that Rahul Gandhi could raise the national flag there amid peace and brotherhood," said Mr Raina.
Mr Gandhi, accompanied by his sister and party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi, on Sunday raised the national flag at the clock tower of Lal Chowk in Srinagar as the Bharat Jodo Yatra entered its final day before concluding on Monday. The yatra will proceed to Nehru Park in the Boulevard area of the city and culminate on Monday.
Meanwhile, senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said that the permission to raise the tricolour at Srinagar's Lal Chowk on Sunday was given by the state administration. Congress had earlier planned to raise the national flag at the state party office on Monday to mark the end of the yatra in Jammu and Kashmir.
"Rahul Gandhi was supposed to raise the national flag on January 30 at the PCC office, since permission to do so elsewhere was not given. Last evening, state administration allowed him to do so at Lal Chowk, but under the condition that it should be done today on 29th at the end of Bharat Jodo Yatra," he tweeted.
The Bharat Jodo Yatra, which started in Kanyakumari on September 7, will conclude on January 30 in Srinagar after covering 3,970 km, 12 states, and two Union territories.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)