‘Made Eye Contact With Militants During Bharat Jodo Yatra In Kashmir’: Rahul Gandhi At Cambridge University

New Delhi: Congress Leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said that he encountered militants during his Bharat Jodo Yatra in Jammu and Kashmir. Rahul was narrating an incident from Kashmir leg of his Bharat Jodo Yatra during a lecture at United Kingdom’s Cambridge University. The Wayanad MP said that security forces cautioned him to not take the yatra by foot in Kashmir as there was a fear of terror attacks but he continued to do so. “I spoke to my people and informed them that I wanted to continue the walk,” Gandhi said. The Congress leader further said that an unidentified man came up to him and questioned him whether the Congress leader had travelled to the UT to listen to the problems of the people. “Then, the guy pointed to certain bystanders and claimed they were all terrorists,” he added.

“I believed I was in danger because militants would murder me in such circumstances. But, they didn’t harm me as a result of the power of listening,” the 52-year-old former Congress chief said.

“As the Opposition, it is very difficult to communicate with people when you have this type of an assault on the media, on the democratic architecture,” he said, explaining the motivation behind his Bharat Jodo Yatra.

Congress Leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday evening gave a lecture on ‘Learning to Listen in the 21st Century’ at United Kingdom’s Cambridge University.

Gandhi referred to the controversial Pegasus snooping issue and alleged that the Israeli spyware was installed on the phones of a large number of politicians, including him.

“Indian democracy is under attack and several politicians, including himself, are under surveillance,” said Gandhi during his address. His statement drew sharp reactions from the BJP which accused him of maligning the country’s image on foreign soil after facing successive electoral setbacks

The former Congress president listed five key aspects of the alleged attack on Indian democracy –Capture and control of media and judiciary; surveillance and intimidation; coercion by federal law enforcement agencies; attacks on minorities, Dalits and tribals; and shutting down of dissent.

Gandhi is on a week-long tour of the UK and is scheduled to hold some closed-door sessions on Big Data Democracy and India-China relations at Cambridge University.