Rahul winds up J&K tour with visit to shrines

M Aamir Khan

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, August 28

Before concluding his three-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi conducted a whirlwind tour of several religious places this morning. Even as the Congress said he was not allowed to visit some places due to security reasons, Rahul sprung a surprise by visiting the Maisuma area in the city which is considered the hub of stone-throwing.

On the way to the airport, Rahul stopped for tea and interacted with locals of Maisuma, also considered the bastion of Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chairman Yasin Malik.

“The visit was not planned and he (Rahul) walked up to a vendor and purchased ‘nadermonjeh’ (pakora-like snack made of lotus stem). He also had tea on a roadside bench and spoke to a few locals,” a Congress leader said, adding that Rahul’s Maisuma visit sent the security personnel into a tizzy.

Rahul paid obeisance at several shrines, including the revered Kheer Bhawani temple at Tulamulla in Ganderbal district and the Hazratbal shrine on the banks of the Dal Lake. He wanted to visit the shrine of Hazrat Sheikh Hamza Makhdoom Sahib on the Hari Parbat but was unable to do so due to security concerns.

Yesterday, during a workers’ meeting at Sopore in north Kashmir, Rahul had expressed his disappointment over “not being allowed” to hold a rally at the nearby Dangerpora, which is considered a hotbed of militancy.

The Congress vice-president today also visited the shrine of Mir Baba Haider at Tulamulla besides the Bal Ashram at Ishber on the outskirts of the city. He later went to the J&K Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) headquarters on the Maulana Azad Road and interacted with local party workers.

“Rahul Gandhi interacted with locals and children (at Bal Asharam) and listened to their problems. At the JKPCC office, he took stock of the damage caused to the building during the floods last year,” a Congress leader said.  Rahul was accompanied by Congress general secretary and J-K in charge Ambika Soni, JKPCC president GA Mir and other party leaders.