National Conference leader Omar Abdullah said that the Congress should see the recent track records of the leaders joining the Bharat Jodo Yatra, some might use it to whitewash themselves. Abdullah was responding to a question about whether Congress should allow leaders like former minister Chaudhary Lal Singh, who allegedly tried to ‘save the rapists’ in the Kathua rape case, to join the Yatra which is scheduled to enter Jammu and Kashmir on 19th January.
On 18th January, People Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti reacted on the issue and said that the ‘motive’ behind the yatra is more important than who is joining it. “Jammu and Kashmir had to suffer the most due to communal politics. I think there was no other option for Congress besides Bharat Jodo Yatra, to reclaim their legacy, idea of India, secular and democratic India. So, we welcome Bharat Jodo Yatra and we will participate in it,” she added.
On 17th January, Jammu and Kashmir Congress spokesperson Deepika Pushkar Nath resigned from the party after its state unit allowed former BJP leader and minister Choudhary Lal Singh was responsible for sabotaging the 2018 Kathua rape case by brazenly defending the rapists of an eight-year-old nomadic girl.