Extracts of the speech of AICC General Secretary Smt. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra at Sher-e-Kashmir Cricket Stadium, Srinagar (J&K) on January 30, 2023.

All the leaders present here, the leaders who have come from other parties as well and Rahul ji, a warm welcome to all of you and congratulations.

My brother had started walking from Kanyakumari to here probably from September for 4 or 5 months. In the beginning, even I thought that there will be a lot of difficulty…even I had my apprehensions. But wherever we went, from Kanyakumari to here in Srinagar, people came out (to welcome us).

I would like to thank the people of Kashmir, the people of Jammu for welcoming us with an open heart. When my brother was coming towards Kashmir, he sent a message to us, me and my mother. He said that I feel that my family members are waiting for me.

Standing here, I feel proud that the Congress Party undertook such a Yatra, which the whole country is looking forward to and which the whole country has supported. In a way, this yatra has been a spiritual journey for the leaders of the Congress Party and especially for the yatris and for Rahul ji who has been there continuously for so many days and walked from one corner of the country to the other.

It is the duty of all of us to preserve the foundation on which this country was built - truth, non-violence and love. Let us uphold that. That is what the Bharat Yatris have shown us, they have shown a path - the path of love, the path of unity, the path of taking everyone together. So, today, I want to congratulate you that you have shown a ray of light to our country and I hope that this light will spread all over the country, that hatred will end and it is only love that will take this country forward and connect you all with one another.

Thank you very much. Jai Hind !