Addressing the Congress workers, Shri Rahul Gandhi said-My family lives in Delhi these days. Prior to living in Delhi, my family lived in Allahabad and even before Allahabad my family lived here. So, I can say that I haven’t been here for a long time, but I can say that I understand you a little bit. And earlier, even my family members might have had the water of Jhelum. The customs that you have, the thinking that you have, which we call Kashmiriyat, is also imbibed in me. So, when I get here on the flight, I feel like I’m coming back to my home.

Rajni ji said that there are not so many Lok Sabhas in the state, it is not a big state. It was not a big state, but now it is not a state anymore. But the nobility of Jammu and Kashmir, the strength, the brotherhood, the way of living, the way of looking at each other with respect and love, is your strength and Kashmiriyat is also found at the very foundation of India. And I understand this well because this feeling is also there in me; whatever you can get me to do with love and respect, you can never be able to get me to do with hate and violence and that is Kashmiriyat. If you talk to the people of Jammu and Kashmir with love, if you talk to them with respect, you hug them with love, you can get whatever you want. But, if you show hatred, violence, disrespect to Jammu and Kashmir, then you cannot get anything from them. This is your reality. Today not only Jammu-Kashmir is being attacked, today the whole of India is being attacked. Ghulam Nabi Azad ji said that we should raise all the issues in Parliament, but the government does not let us speak in the Parliament, it suppresses us in Parliament. I can’t speak in the Parliament about Pegasus, about Rafale, about Jammu and Kashmir or corruption or about unemployment and all the institutions of India are being attacked by these people. They are attacking the Judiciary, attacking the Legislative Assembly, Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, everything!

I said that we have friends from the press, but even they do not write the truth which they should write. They are suppressed and threatened. They are scared on Pan-Indian basis that if they write something, their jobs will be in danger. So, friends, what I say is that they do not fulfill their responsibilities. So, this is an attack on the whole country. Jammu and Kashmir, Tamil Nadu, Bengal, the concept of India (which is democratic), our basic structure, Our Constitution, everything is being attacked.Indirect attack on the rest of India and a direct attack on Jammu and Kashmir. As already said by us, Ghulam Nabi Azad ji and other leaders, we have made our position very clear. Full statehood should be restored here and there is a democratic process, which we call elections. So, there should be free and fair elections.

We had tried a lot when our government was in power. We had started different programmes. There was a programme to conduct Panchayat elections, there was a programme of Udaan, we brought the biggest industrialists of India to the university here. We did not allow the youth of Kashmir to go to another state and we were doing the work of connecting, with love, with brotherhood, with respect and they have hurt that process, and I know that the people of Jammu and Kashmir have been hurt have undergone pain, but I want to give you the main message here that I want a relationship of respect, a relationship of love with you.

I fight against Narendra Modi. We will fight against Narendra Modi and his ideology, the ideology of dividing India, the ideology of breaking India, the ideology of violence. We will fight and defeat them. Because this is the culture of our country. This is not just the culture of Jammu and Kashmir, but it is the culture of the whole of India. But my message to you is that I have come here with respect and love. I want that the statehood of Jammu and Kashmir should be returned to you as soon as possible and the democratic process should be restarted.

My plan is - Our people of Jammu are also sitting here. I have come to Srinagar now, but I will also take two more visits - one to Jammu and then to Ladakh. So, this was my message. This office of ours which has just been built is just a new beginning and you are our army. See, what is the difference between us and the rest of the parties? Rajni ji said, you fight for different things, farmers’ issue, your statehood, unemployment, you fight for these things. But I fight against only one thing, I fight against hate, and I fight against fear. Wherever I go, I fight hatred. So, what is the difference between us and other parties - we don’t hate anyone, we don’t use violence on anyone, we talk politely, we work with love. And this is what the Congress party is. This is the army of love. This is the army of non-violence. I want to congratulate you today that this office is opening after a long time, I really want to congratulate you.

I had tried to come even earlier, I had tried to come even before covid, but I was stopped at the airport itself. I was not allowed to come out of the airport. I have come today and will be back soon. Thank you all so very much.