Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday delivered a new reply to Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik, saying he is willing to visit the newly created Union Territory without any pre-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 said in a tweet.
It all started with the Governor hitting out at Gandhi over the Congress leader’s remarks that there have been reports of violence in Kashmir after Centre’s decision to scrap Article 370.
"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 on Monday.
Responding to the invite on Twitter, Gandhi wrote, “Dear Governor Malik, A delegation of opposition leaders & I will take you up on your gracious invitation to visit J&K and Ladakh. We won’t need an aircraft but please ensure us the freedom to travel & meet the people, mainstream leaders and our soldiers stationed over there."
On Tuesday, Malik lashed out at Gandhi again for putting "pre-conditions" for a visit to Kashmir Valley and alleged he was trying to "create unrest" by seeking to bring a delegation of opposition leaders.
Hitting back at the governor for "taking a U-turn" on his offer, the Congress said he should stand by his word.
(With inputs from PTI)
