Rahul Gandhi's ‘Mohabbat ki Dukaan’: Congress MP to adopt 22 children orphaned by Pakistan shelling
In a big humanitarian gesture, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will adopt 22 children who lost both their parents or the sole breadwinner in the family in the Pakistani shelling during the Operation Sindoor.
Jammu and Kashmir Congress chief Tariq Hamid Karra said Gandhi has promised to bear the educational expenses of these children from Poonch till they graduate.
The first installment of the financial assistance would be released on Wednesday.
"Rahul Gandhi visited Poonch in the aftermath of the devastating shelling and visited the bereaved families. He asked us to prepare a list of school-going children who lost one or both parents, especially the breadwinners, and accordingly, we submitted the list to him," Karra told PTI news agency.
Poonch was one of the worst-hit areas in the cross-border shelling between May 7 and May 10 after India carried out precision strikes under Operation Sindoor on nine terror hubs in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in response to the Pahalgam massacre.
Gandhi visited Poonch on May 24 and met the victims of the Pakistani shelling. He also visited several houses that were damaged during the shelling, interacted with the victims and expressed solidarity with them.
“Today I met the families of those who lost their lives in shelling by Pakistani troops in Poonch. Damaged houses, scattered belongings, moist eyes and painful stories of losing loved ones -- these patriotic families bear the biggest burden of war with courage and dignity every time. Salute to their courage,” he later said in a post on X.
At least 13 people were killed in Poonch district alone as Pakistan resorted to artillery shelling, missiles and drone strikes. More than 70 people across Jammu and Kashmir were injured in the exchange of fire.
‘Mohabbat ki Dukaan (shop of love)’ is a slogan popularised by Gandhi to counter the the BJP-RSS which he has accused of playing divisive politics.
"I am opening 'Mohabbat ki Dukaan' in 'Nafrat ka Bazaar' (the market of hatred),” he had said during the Bharat Jodo Yatra.
India