Jammu: In a heartfelt appeal to the people of Jammu and Kashmir, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi declared on Thursday that he views himself as their advocate in New Delhi. He also assured that his doors are always open to party workers, whom he described as "the lions of the Congress”. He was addressing them on the second and concluding day of his visit to poll-bound Jammu and Kashmir.

"You know my relationship with you. It is not a political connection. It is a relationship of love and that of my family's background. My family comes from your state," the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha told Congress workers here.

"So, you should always feel that you have a sepoy in Delhi. I am your sepoy. Whatever you need, my doors are always open for you," he said.

"You only have to give me an order, and I will be present before you," Gandhi said amid huge applause.

Flanked by Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, Gandhi referred to party leaders as his 'generals' and the workers as 'sepoys'. 

Taking a dig at the prime minister, Gandhi said Modi's body language and confidence have drastically changed after the parliamentary poll results.
Claiming that the Congress and its workers have shaken Prime Minister Modi's confidence, Gandhi remarked he has lost the self-assured body language he displayed before the elections.

"Congress workers have given him so much psychological tension that his confidence has been badly hit. Congress workers have forced him to bow before the Constitution. He is not the same PM he was before the elections," he added.

He affirmed that the Congress will continue to challenge the BJP across the country.

"Whenever they try to do any mischief, they will find the Congress challenging them. The Congress and its workers have saved the Constitution and democracy in the country. We will thwart their design. They will not be allowed to pass their bills," he said.

Gandhi said the Congress is engaged in a battle of ideologies with the BJP. "It is a fight between the ideologies of Congress and the RSS."
In a veiled attack on former Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, Gandhi told the party workers, "When there was a difficult time, and you and your ideology were under attack, you still fought on the ground, keeping the flag flying high. Several people threw down the flag and ran away. You did not run away. You faced bullets, sticks and abuses, and stood your ground firmly. I call you the lions of the Congress."

On the issue of party ticket distribution in Jammu and Kashmir, Gandhi expressed his desire to see tickets being given to grassroots workers. "They should have the opportunity to become MLAs. I want to see them in assembly."

He also called for the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir's statehood at the earliest. He said the people of Jammu and Kashmir have gained nothing under the current regime, which has handed over all the region's resources to "outsiders".

Gandhi and Kharge were welcomed and honoured with a Dogri pagri and picture of Mata Vaishnodevi. (Agencies)