Rahul accepts J-K Governor’s invite without any conditions, asks ‘when can I come?’

A day after Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik slammed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for putting "pre-conditions" for a visit to the state, the former on Wednesday said that he ‘accepts the invitation to visit and meet people without any conditions.’

“Dear Maalik (sic) ji, I saw your feeble reply to my tweet…I accept your invitation to visit Jammu & Kashmir and meet the people, with no conditions attached… When can I come?” Gandhi tweeted.

Interestingly, the former Congress president spelt the Governor’s name as ‘Maalik’ - instead of Malik in his twitter post. The meaning of the Hindi word ‘Maalik’ is ‘master’.

Dear Maalik ji,

I saw your feeble reply to my tweet.

I accept your invitation to visit Jammu & Kashmir and meet the people, with no conditions attached.

When can I come?

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) August 14, 2019

Earlier on Tuesday, Malik had lashed out at Gandhi for putting “pre-conditions” for a visit to the Valley and alleged he was trying to “create unrest” by seeking to bring a delegation of opposition leaders.

Following remarks by Gandhi that there have been reports of violence in Kashmir, Malik had said on Monday he will send him an aircraft to visit the Valley and observe the ground situation.

Gandhi has put forth many conditions for the visit, including meeting mainstream leaders under detention, the governor said in a statement.

Hitting back at the governor for "taking a U-turn" on his offer to visit the state, the Congress said he should stand by his word.

“The Governor is taking a U-turn. He made an offer that anyone can visit the valley to judge for themselves. Shri @RahulGandhi has taken him up on the offer. He should stand by his word & allow a multi-party delegation to visit Jammu and Kashmir unhindered,” the Congress said on its official Twitter handle.             

Malik said he had never invited the Congress leader with “so many pre-conditions” and has referred the matter to the local police and administration for further examination.

“Rahul Gandhi is politicising the matter by seeking to bring a delegation of opposition leaders to create further unrest and problems for the common people,” he said in the statement.