Congress takes out rally in Srinagar as Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra culminates today

The Congress on Monday took out a rally to mark the culmination of its Bharat Jodo Yatra in the Jammu and Kashmir’s Srinagar city, amid heavy snowfall.

The rally being led by Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and party chief Mallikarjun Kharge began from the Sher-e-Kashmir Cricket Stadium and was joined by representatives from DMK, NC, PDP, CPI, RSP and IUML.

With the rally, the curtains have come down on the yatra that traversed a dozen states and two Union territories in nearly five months after its launch on September 7 last year in Kanyakumari.

During the course of the yatra, Rahul Gandhi addressed 12 public meetings, over 100 corner meetings, 13 press conferences. He had over 275 planned walking interactions and more than 100 sitting interactions.

Earlier on Monday, Rahul Gandhi hoisted the national flag at the 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' camp site here and followed it with a fun snowball fight with his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

Donning a white T-shirt and a sleeveless jacket, the former Congress chief hoisted the flag at the camp site in Panthachowk to the tunes of the national anthem played to mark the culmination of the yatra, amid a fresh snowfall in the city.

In a brief address to the 'Bharat Yatris', Gandhi thanked them for their love, affection and support through the 136-day foot march, which began in Kanyakumari on September 7 last year.

The Gandhi siblings later joined Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and scores of other party leaders at the Pradesh Congress Committee office on the Maulana Azad Road where another flag hoisting ceremony was held. The national anthem was played after this.

The local administration had made stringent security arrangements for the programme as Lal Chowk was off limits for vehicular traffic for the second consecutive day.

Rahul Gandhi had on Sunday unfurled the national flag at the iconic clock tower in Lal Chowk to mark the end of the foot march of the Bharat Jodo Yatra.