'People of Jammu and Kashmir were deprived of...': Rahul Gandhi presses for statehood ahead of Assembly polls in J-K

Congress leader and Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi, who is in poll-bound Jammu and Kashmir to hold mega rallies, pressed for statehood ahead of the Assembly polls in the union territory. 

"People of Jammu and Kashmir were deprived of their rights. The statehood of Jammu and Kashmir should be restored", Gandhi said while addressing a rally in the Ramban district. 

He further affirmed that if the Congress party comes to power in Jammu and Kashmir, the statehood would be restored. 

The Lok Sabha LoP went on to attack Prime Minister Narendra Modi and accused him of creating unemployment in the country. 

"Modiji has created unemployment in the entire country. Have you heard of Adani? He is a friend of Modiji. Whoever does any small businesses, the Prime Minister introduces GST for them", he said.

Rahul Gandhi further said that the fight is between the two 'ideologies'. 

"You must have observed that the RSS and th BJP are disseminating hatred and violence in the country. The fight is between the two ideologies -- hatred and love. We have given the slogan of 'opening shops of love in a market full of hatred'. Only love can defeat hatred", Gandhi stressed. 

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi is scheduled to hold another mega rally in the Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir, sounding the poll bugle. He will campaign for the party candidates ahead of the first phase of Assembly polls dated September 18. 

The polling for the 90-member Jammu and Kashmir assembly will be held in three phases on September 18, September 25, and October 1 respectively and the results will be announced on October 4.

Notably, this is the first time that elections are being held in the union territory after the abrogation of article 370.

The Congress and the National Conference (NC) have joined hands together ahead of the polls, with a seat-sharing pact of 32 and 51 respectively. 

Earlier, Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) Chief Tariq Hameed Karra said, "We have agreed to have a friendly but disciplined contest…Over and above these seats, we have left 1 seat for CPI (M) and 1 seat for Panthers Party". 

The grand old party has fielded Tariq Hameed Karra from the Central Shalteng constituency, Mumtaz Khan from the Reasi constituency, Bhupender Jamwal from the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi constituency, Iftkar Ahmed from Rajouri (ST) constituency, Shabir Ahmad Khan from Thannamandi (ST) constituency and Mohd Shahnawaz Choudhary from Surankote (ST) constituency.

Moreover, prominent leader Ghulam Ahmad Mir will contest from Dooru, while Vikar Rasool Wani will run from Banihal. Peerzada Mohd Syed will stand for the Anantnag constituency, and Sheikh Riaz will contest the Doda seat.

The party has also named Surinder Singh Channi for the Tral seat, Amanullah Mantoo for Devsar, Shaikh Zafarullah for Inderwal, Nadeem Sharief for Bhadarwah, and Pradeep Kumar Bhagat for Doda West.