New Delhi: Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday urged people in Jammu and Kashmir to vote for the INDIA bloc, saying every such vote will ensure the return of their rights and bring employment.
Voting began Wednesday for the assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir for the first time since the abrogation of Article 370. Twenty-four constituencies spread over seven districts of the Union territory voted in the first phase.
“My brothers and sisters of Jammu and Kashmir, today the first phase of voting is being held. For the first time in the history of the country, a state’s statehood has been taken away and it has been made a union territory – this is a violation of all your constitutional rights, an insult to Jammu and Kashmir,” Gandhi said in a post in X.
“Your every vote for INDIA will ensure return of your rights, will bring employment, will make women strong, will bring you out of the ‘era of injustice’…will make Jammu and Kashmir prosperous again,” he said.
“Today, come out of your homes in the largest of numbers possible and exercise your democratic right – vote for INDIA,” Gandhi added.
In a post in Hindi, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said, “My brothers and sisters of Jammu and Kashmir, in the last 10 years, things have only been taken away from you. Statehood was taken away, the right to vote and elect a government was taken away, the identity and self-respect of Jammu and Kashmir was taken away.”
“Today is the time to change that. Your every vote will strengthen Jammu and Kashmir and your rights. Use your right to vote in maximum numbers and make INDIA win with a huge majority,” she said.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge urged the voters in Jammu and Kashmir to remember who is responsible for the “travesty” of downgrading a state to a Union Territory when they cast their vote.
Kharge asserted that the people of Jammu and Kashmir are eager to safeguard their rights and embark on a new era of true development and full statehood.
In a post on X, Kharge said, “As the first phase of voting in 24 Assembly constituencies commences, we urge everyone to exercise their democratic right and vote in large numbers.”
Every single vote holds the power to shape the future and bring about an era of peace, stability, justice, progress, and economic empowerment, the Congress president said.
“We appeal to all, especially first-time voters, to participate in this crucial election and be the catalysts for change,” he said.
“For the first time ever, a state was downgraded to a Union Territory, when you cast your vote, do remember who is responsible for this travesty,” Kharge said.
“Let us unite and shape a brighter future for Jammu and Kashmir, where the voices of all citizens are heard,” he added.
This is the maiden assembly election in Jammu and Kashmir as a Union Territory. It is also the first poll to elect an assembly in the last 10 years.
The Centre abrogated Article 370, which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir, and bifurcated the erstwhile state into two Union Territories — Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh — on August 5, 2019.
