Bharat Jodo Yatra: Rahul calls off walk for the day after 'total security collapse'

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday (January 27) said he had to cancel his Bharat Jodo Yatra (BJY) walk for the day because police arrangements unfortunately “completely collapsed”.

Police personnel who were supposed to manage the crowd were nowhere to be seen, the former Congress president told reporters.

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‘Hope that lapse will not be repeated’

“This morning, a massive crowd gathered to receive and participate in the BJY after the (Banihal) tunnel. As we crossed the tunnel, local security arrangements completely collapsed. The police personnel who are supposed to carry the rope (local police is responsible for using a rope to make a ring around Rahul as he walks; only select people are allowed to walk with him within this ring) were nowhere to be seen.”

“I don’t know where they went or why. My (personal) security people told me it is not advisable for me to walk any further in the yatra till the breach is addressed. It is difficult for me to go against the advice of my security detail. Because of the lapse, I could not walk in the BJY, although other yatris continued the march. I can only hope that the lapse that happened today will not be repeated over the next two days,” said Rahul.

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‘J&K’s responsibility to provide security’

“It’s the Jammu and Kashmir administration’s responsibility to provide security… I hope security will now be ensured for the remaining days of the yatra,” Rahul, who started his yatra in September and ends it in Srinagar on January 30, said.

“I had to call off my walk because I can’t go against my security people,” the Congress leader said.

His party colleague Jairam Ramesh added that Rahul’s security team is holding discussions with the Jammu and Kashmir administration to ensure that everything goes off smoothly for the next few days.