Rahul Gandhi likely to visit Jammu next week

Jammu: Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi is likely to visit Jammu, the city of temples, next week, a senior party leader said Sunday.

Gandhi was in Kashmir for two days last month.

Rajni Patil, the AICC in-charge of J&K affairs, said Gandhi would commence his Jammu visit by paying obeisance at the famous Mata Vaishno Devi shrine in Reasi district.

Addressing a meeting of senior party leaders here, Patil said Gandhi will later interact with Congress functionaries from blocks, districts and Panchayati Raj Institutions.

He will also interact with leaders of frontal wings during his two-day stay in Jammu, Patil said.

Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president G A Mir also attended the meeting, a party spokesman said.

He said the Congress MP would also interact with the members of the extended working committee including former ministers, legislators, AICC members, PCC and District Congress Committee delegates.

The spokesman said Patil received suggestions and discussed preparatory arrangements for the proposed visit.

Gandhi had visited Kashmir on August 9-10 and paid obeisance at the holy shrines of Mata Khir Bhawani and Hazratbal, and held interactions with party leaders and activists.

During the inaugural function of the new building of the party office at Srinagar, Gandhi had announced that he would visit Jammu and Ladakh in near future.

Mir said Gandhi would take the feedback from the ground about the state of affairs and the feelings of people over the division of Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories in August 2019 and the current spell of central rule.

“No rally has been planned in view of the Covid situation. All necessary precautions will be taken while facilitating top party functionaries to interact with the leader (Gandhi),” he said.