Rahul Gandhi accepts Governor Satya Pal Malik’s invitation to visit J-K through Twitter

Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday accepted Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik’s invitation to visit the Valley. However, he asked Satya Pal Malik to ‘ensure freedom to travel and meet people’. “Dear Governor (J&K), a delegation of opposition leaders and I will take you up on your gracious invitation to visit J&K and Ladakh. We won’t need aircraft but please ensure us freedom to travel and meet people, mainstream leaders and our soldiers stationed there (sic),” Gandhi tweeted.  

Earlier on Monday, Malik had slammed the Congress leader for his remarks that there have been reports of violence in Kashmir, saying he will send him an aircraft to visit the valley and observe the ground situation.

"I have invited Rahul Gandhi to come here. I will send you a plane, to observe (the situation) and then speak up. You are a responsible person and you should not speak like this," Malik said. Malik was replying to a question about statements and reports by some leaders and the media about the violence in Kashmir.

On Saturday night, Gandhi said that some reports had come in from Jammu and Kashmir about the violence there and Prime Minister Narendra Modi must assuage concerns over the matter in a transparent manner.

The governor said there was no communal angle in scrapping provisions of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.

"Scrapping of Article 370 and Article 35-A was for everyone. There is no communal angle (for scrapping it) in Leh, Kargil, Jammu, Rajouri-Poonch and not here either (Kashmir). There is no communal angle to it," he said.

Malik said that the issue was being fanned by some people but they were not successful in it.

"Foreign press has made an attempt (of wrong reportage) and we have warned them. All hospitals are open for you and if even a single person has been hit by a bullet, prove it. But only four people were hit by pellets in legs when there was violence by youths and there were no serious injuries to anyone," he said.

Replying to a question about allegations that Kashmir has been turned into a concentration camp, the governor said that despite being educated, people don't know the meaning of a concentration camp.

"I know what it is. I have gone to jail 30 times. Even then, I will not term it as a concentration camp. They (Congress) imprisoned people for one-and-half-years during Emergency, but nobody termed them concentration camps. Is preventative arrest (equal to) a concentration camp," he asked.

With PTI Inputs