On Sunday, senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi paid tribute to former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and his father on his birth anniversary from the banks of the Pangong Lake, a day after riding a motorcycle from Leh to Pangong Tso in Ladakh. The Pangong Tso’s banks are at a height of around 14,000 feet from which Gandhi paid the tribute.
Later in the day, a prayer meeting is scheduled at the same place. Gandhi rode the motorbike from Leh to Pangong Tso to celebrate the birth anniversary of his father.
“Rajiv Gandhi sacrificed his life for the country. We have gathered here to remember him,” Vikar Rasool Wani, president of the Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee, told news agency ANI.
Rahul Gandhi shared a video on X (formally Twitter) and wrote, “Dad, the dreams you had for India shimmer through these priceless memories in your eyes. In your footsteps lies my path – I understand the struggles and dreams of every Indian, I am listening to the voice of Mother India.”
This is the first time Rahul Gandhi is visiting Ladakh after the region was made a Union territory after being carved out of Jammu and Kashmir in August 2019. Gandhi is likely to visit Kargil next week.
The erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir was also turned into a Union territory, and its special status under Article 370 of the Constitution was revoked.
Gandhi reached Leh on a two-day visit on Thursday, later deciding to extend his stay in the region by four more days to cover Pangong Lake, Nubra Valley, and Kargil district, Congress spokesperson and leader of opposition in Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC), Leh, Tsering Namgyal told the news agency PTI.
After covering more than 130 km on a motorcycle, Gandhi will stay overnight at Pangong Lake, where a token celebration will be organised in connection with the birth anniversary of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi on Sunday, he said.
Rahul Gandhi shared several pictures of his motorcycle expedition from Leh to Pangong on his social media account with the caption, “On our way to Pangong Lake, which my father used to say, is one of the most beautiful places in the world.”
“On Sunday, he is leaving for Nubra Valley on the motorcycle for a night stay there. En route, he is likely to meet commoners, including shopkeepers and farmers,” Namgyal said, adding he will be back in Leh on Monday.
(With PTI inputs)
