Jammu, Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee president, Vikar Rasool Wani on Sunday said his party’s ‘Haath Se Haath Jodo’ campaign is reaching out to people in the hinterlands ahead of the 2024 general elections.
Speaking during the yatra in Makhanpur Gujran Panchayat, Wani said that the state-level campaign will strengthen the Congress’ prospects and act as an extension of the Kanyakumari to Kashmir ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ that passed through the politically crucial state recently.
The yatra is being organised to highlight the various issues of public concern, especially to oppose property tax, price rise, unemployment and other problems faced by people.
The ‘Haath Se Haath Jodo’ campaign is aimed at apprising people at the grassroots level of the failures of the central government, he said and added, “the BJY went beyond politics and issues were raised on the basis of ideology by Rahul Gandhi. It had nothing to do with elections. But in the ‘Haath Se Haath Jodo Abhiyan’, we have a direct target — the failures of the Narendra Modi government.”
“The aim of the campaign is to apprise the people of the kind of hatred which is seen in society and the prevailing situation in J&K. We have presented certain facts against the government on issues such as farmer suicides, betrayal of the youth, and how their dreams were shattered by the central and the J&K governments,” he added.
He further said that the “anti-people” policies of the BJP government at the Centre and in J&K being highlighted by organising ‘chaupal’ and ‘sabha’ in the villages, adding, “the the yatra recounts the “sweet and sour” experiences of the former Congress Chief during his journey from Kanyakumari to Kashmir, besides flagging issues of unemployment, inflation, and atrocities carried out by the BJP government in the country and J&K.
JKPCC Working President Raman Bhalla, speaking on the occasion, talked about inflation, unemployment, women’s safety, central government’s handling of China, rise in hate speeches, alleged capturing of institutions, and toppling of elected governments.
After the successful conclusion of the historic Bharat Jodo Yatra, ‘Haath Se Haath Jodo’ campaign is set to bring change and highlight the issues concerning people, which are being ignored by the Modi government in order to hide its failures on all fronts, he said.
Under this campaign, by reaching six lakh villages, 2.50 lakh gram panchayats and 10 lakh polling booths, the message of Rahul Gandhi and the charge-sheet of the failures of the Modi government would be delivered to every household, said Bhalla and claimed that ever since the Modi government came to power, inflation is breaking the back of the citizens of the country.
Bhalla also charged the BJP Government with failure to address all the outstanding issues of the refugees from Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK).