J&K Police Denies Security Lapse in Bharat Jodo Yatra As RaGa Says Arrangements ‘Nowhere to be Seen’

The Jammu and Kashmir administration dismissed allegations levelled by the Congress that there was a security lapse in Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra, which entered the Kashmir Valley on Friday. Earlier in the day, Gandhi cancelled the walk and claimed that police arrangements “completely collapsed”.

“The government is acutely mindful of the security concerns and all arrangements have been made to ensure the best possible security for the ongoing Bharat Jodo Yatra,” said RK Goyal, additional chief secretary of the home department of Jammu and Kashmir, responding on the so-called security breach.

Goyal said the size of the crowd was larger than planned, creating an “impression” that there was a lack of security arrangements. He further said a large portion of the yatris from Banihal, who were supposed to return, continued walking to the Kashmir side.

“The size of the crowd was larger than planned, which led to pressure on available security resources and created the impression that security arrangements were not in place. However, 15 companies of paramilitary forces and 10 companies of J&K police were deployed,” Goyal said.

He added: “Contrary to arrangements worked out between Bharat Jodo Yatra organisers and security establishment, a large portion of the crowd from Banihal side, who were supposed to have returned to Banihal, rushed to Kashmir side.”

The J&K Police rejected the Congress charge and said there was no security lapse, and that the organisers had not informed the police about a large crowd joining the march from Banihal. “The Jammu and Kashmir Police was not consulted before the Bharat Jodo Yatra was discontinued. We will provide foolproof security (to the yatra),” said additional director general of police Vijay Kumar, who is in charge of security in the Kashmir Valley, in a statement. Earlier, the Kashmir Zone Police had also tweeted claiming that there was no security issue.

Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge said it was “disconcerting” to see a lapse in Gandhi’s security detail as India had already lost two prime ministers (referring to Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi) and scores of leaders. He demanded better security for the yatris, saying it was the government’s responsibility.

J&K administration’s responsibility to provide security: Rahul Gandhi

Earlier in the day, Gandhi had alleged that police personnel supposed to manage the crowd during the yatra were “nowhere to be seen”. He said quite a large crowd had gathered and we were looking forward to walking on the Bharat Jodo Yatra. “But, unfortunately, the police arrangement completely collapsed,” Gandhi said.

The Congress leader said his security team was uncomfortable with him walking any further. “So, I had to cancel my walk. The other yatris, of course, did the walk,” he said, adding that it was important that police manage the crowd so that the yatra could be continued.

“It is very difficult for me to go against what my security people are recommending,” he said. Asserting that it was the J&K administration’s responsibility to provide security, Gandhi expressed hope that the security will now be ensured for the remaining days of the yatra. “I don’t know why it happened, but tomorrow and day after tomorrow, it should not happen,” he said.

Gandhi began his yatra from Banihal in Jammu region, crossed the Jawahar Tunnel into the valley in Qazigund in a bulletproof vehicle. While the yatra got a rousing reception on this side of the tunnel, the security forces found it difficult to control and manage the crowd of hundreds of party supporters. The Congress put out a video purportedly showing police personnel withdrawing from the site.

After crossing the Jawahar Tunnel, Gandhi and former J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah began to walk and were given a rousing reception by local residents. The yatris were scheduled to walk a 9-km distance to Vessu in Anantnag district of south Kashmir, where a halt was scheduled. Then the yatra was to travel to the Khanabal area, where it would have stayed for the night.

Gandhi, however, could barely walk for 500 m after crossing the tunnel, amid jostling in the crowd to get a glimpse of him. People had assembled in large numbers despite the area being covered by heavy snow. However, Gandhi was asked by his security team to stop given the absence of police personnel to manage the large crowd that had gathered to receive him. The yatra was halted for about 20 minutes and Congress leaders, including AICC general secretary organisation KC Venugopal, told reporters that it was a “very serious security lapse”.

“Senior security officers have to come here and answer this. Why are they doing this?” Venugopal told reporters. After the brief halt, Gandhi boarded his vehicle and was driven to Khanabal.

Abdullah tweeted, “I’m witness to this. The outer ring of the cordon, which was maintained by the Jammu and Kashmir police, simply vanished within minutes of Rahul Gandhi starting to walk.”

‘Politics has its place…’

Terming the incident a “big security lapse”, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said Gandhi’s security team is holding discussions with the Jammu and Kashmir administration to ensure that everything goes off smoothly for the next few days.

“Politics has its place but by playing with Rahul Gandhi’s security in Jammu and Kashmir, the government has stooped to its lowest level,” the Congress general secretary added in a tweet in Hindi.

Ramesh said there have been a couple of small security lapses during this yatra so far, “but not a huge one like this”. “The administration should have assessed the magnitude of the crowd beforehand only. But, they took it lightly. The number of security forces was not what it should have been. So, Rahul ji had to come in a car. This is a lapse on the part of the administration,” he said, adding it was a serious issue.

(With PTI inputs)

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