Jammu, January 24: Actor-turned-politician Urmila Matondkar joined Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra as it resumed from the garrison town of Nagrota on a cold Tuesday morning.
Matondkar, a popular Bollywood star of the 1990s, joined Gandhi shortly after the march started from near the army garrison at around 8am amid tight security, with Congress workers and supporters lined up on the road along the route to welcome them.
Matondkar (48) had resigned from the Congress in September 2019 after a short association of six months, and joined the Shiv Sena in 2020.
Dressed in a cream-coloured traditional Kashmir Pheran (loose gown) and beanie cap, Matondkar was interacting with Gandhi as they marched along.
Noted author Perumal Murugan and J&K Pradesh Congress committee president Vikar Rasool Wani, his predecessor GA Mir and former minister Tariq Hamid Karra also joined them alongside hundreds of other carrying the Tricolour in their hands.
The yatra, which started from Kanyakumari on September 7, entered Jammu and Kashmir from Punjab on Thursday and reached Jammu city on Monday.
The march is scheduled to make two night halts at Ramban and Banihal along the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway before its culmination in Srinagar with a grand rally at the Sher-e-Kashmir Cricket Stadium on January 30.
A 65-member-strong Ladakh delegation led by Ladakh Territorial Congress president Nawang Rigzin Jora joined Gandhi at the start of the yatra and briefed him about the issues and concerns of their people, one of the delegation members said.
