More than 1,000 young people attended the rally, according to a Congress leader, and brought attention to issues like unemployment. On the final stage of his more than one-week-long visit to the Union Territory of Ladakh, senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi engaged in conversation with a group of children after arriving at Kargil town on Thursday evening. According to senior Congress politician and former lawmaker Asgar Ali Karbalai, the former Congress president would speak at a public gathering in Kargil, which is close to voting, on Friday before travelling back to Delhi. On September 10, 26 seats on the 30-member Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) Kargil will be up for election, and four days later the ballots will be counted.
Gandhi, 53, arrived in Kargil town late today afternoon on his motorbike following an overnight stay at Padam in the Zanskar Tehsil of Kargil. He received a warm welcome from a sizable throng that cheered “Bharat Jodo” and the Congress leader. At a special event hosted by the neighbourhood Congress unit later that evening, he engaged with the kids for an hour starting at 5 o’clock, according to Mr. Karbalai.
More than 1,000 young people, according to him, showed up and spoke about their issues, which included unemployment. Mr. Gandhi told them that he and other party members would represent them in Parliament and secure their rights. Speaking about the party’s victories in the Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh assembly elections, Mr. Gandhi also projected confidence in the party’s success in the state and federal elections later this year, according to Mr. Karbalai.
He referred to the encounter between Mr. Gandhi and the youth as a “historic moment” and claimed that the residents of Kargil were in agreement that the Congressman’s efforts to defend democracy and secularism in the nation by exposing “divisive forces and hatemongers” had been successful. “Mr Gandhi’s visit has nothing to do with the local elections in Kargil. He is not here to campaign for the party candidates. He has a larger goal to remove hatred and spread love,” Mr Karbalai said.
Earlier, Mr. Gandhi posted a number of images from his trip from Zanskar to Kargil, including one showing a security team on the slopes of a mountain with the remark, “On our frontiers stand the courageous children of Bharat Mata – ready to take on any task for her sake. You can be inspired for a lifetime just by looking into their eyes, having a sincere conversation, or seeing into their lives.
On his motorbike during his Ladakh journey, which began on August 17 initially for two days, Mr Gandhi visited nearly all of the notable locations, including Pangong Lake, Nubra Valley, Khardungla Top, Lamayuru, and Zanskar. Later, he expanded his trip, which Congress referred to as an extension of Mr. Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra from Kanyakumari to Kashmir from September 7, 2022, to January 30, 2023. “Bharat Jodo is deeply rooted in every Indian’s heart and mind. The resonating chant of ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ echoing through the streets of Leh serves as a strong example of this unity. No power can suppress this voice, brimming with affection and camaraderie,” Mr Gandhi, the MP from Wayanad, wrote on his social media account after meeting enthusiastic supporters in Leh town earlier this week.