The Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra, just a day away from its culmination, reached Srinagar on Sunday. The arduous foot march that began from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu has seen the Wayanad MP cover over 3,500 kms to reach Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir. After reaching the historic Lal Chowk in Srinagar, the Congress leader unfurled the national flag at the spot and sang national anthem with the local Kashmiri people.
BJP fumes on Rahul’s bigger cutout than national flag
However, this event at Lal Chowk has sparked a controversy as many noticed Rahul Gandhi’s cutout behind the flag was bigger than the actual height of the flag. Leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were quick to accuse the Gandhi scion of ‘insulting’ the national flag by putting himself above it.
Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga, the national secretary of the BJP’s youth wing, took to Twitter to slam Gandhi. “Shame on Rahul Gandhi for insulting National Flag. This shows how much the Gandhi family knows about the country,” Bagga said.
BJP leader Priti Gandhi also called out Congress for violating code of conduct.
“In their self-obsession, they have ended up violating the code of conduct of India’s flag. Rahul Gandhi’s huge cutout is towering above our tricolour. NO ONE is bigger than the nation. This is unacceptable!!” she said.
Many on social media sites were also angered by the act.
One user on Twitter wrote: “Horrible optics by Bharat Jodo Yatra in J&K.. Why this huge cutout of Rahul Gandhi as a backdrop to the national flag? And I’m not even getting into the flag hoisting at Lal Chowk because despite his statement the other day about “outsiders” administering J&K, he too is mainstream.”
Another wrote: “This Proves that Congress thinks Rahul Gandhi is ever bigger than the National flag and the Nation.”
Rahul Gandhi’s Yatra to end tomorrow
Rahul Gandhi on Sunday unfurled the national flag at Lal Chowk in Srinagar as the Bharat Jodo Yatra entered its last leg in the union territory.
The yatra will travel to Nehru Park in the Boulevard area of the city and will culminate on Monday.
Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra resumed on Friday morning from the National Highway-44, Banihal Railway station, in the UT’s Ramban district.
Security was tightened in the area in the wake of the recent twin blasts on the outskirts of Jammu city on January 22 which rocked a busy locality in Narwal leaving at least nine people injured.
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.
(With Inputs from ANI)
