The BJP’s Jammu and Kashmir chief, Ravinder Raina, on Monday said two lakh people would join Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first rally in Kashmir after the scrapping of the erstwhile state’s special status in 2019.

However, Raina’s claim is clouded by reports that the venue has a limited capacity and the administration is roping in thousands of its employees to swell the numbers.

Modi will address a rally at Srinagar’s Bakshi Stadium on Thursday. This will be Modi’s first rally in Kashmir during his second term as the Prime Minister.

“On March 7, the Prime Minister is visiting Kashmir. A very big rally has been organised in Srinagar on his visit. More than two lakh people are going to participate in this rally. There is a mood of celebration across the Valley,” Raina told a news conference in Srinagar.

Official sources, however, said the stadium can accommodate around 30,000 people.

“The stadium has a seating capacity of 18,000 people. Additionally, some 10,000 people or so can be accommodated on the ground,” an official said.

Government sources said around 7,000 employees from different departments, including education, social welfare, agriculture, rural development and the Srinagar Municipal Corporation had been directed to turn up at the venue.

The employees are from different districts in the Valley. Private schools in Srinagar have been asked to arrange 221 vehicles to facilitate their travel.

Documents accessed by The Telegraph show that the government has prepared two lists — the first contains the names of “7,000 participants (government employees, including college professors) along with a transport plan for VVIP visit”. The other has the names of 221 nodal officers appointed to facilitate their attendance.

Their contact details, addresses and vehicle numbers are mentioned in these lists. The documents do not mention the name of the VVIP, the date of the function or
the venue.

The newspaper spoke to some of the employees whose names were on the list. They admitted that they had informally been told to join the rally but they requested not to be named.

“We found our names on the twin lists, which were widely circulated among employees. We have been told to present ourselves at the pick-up points at 5.30am on March 7. We do not know what we are supposed to do there,” an employee of the agriculture department said.

“Some 300 employees from our department are on these lists. We have also been informally told to rope in farmers who are beneficiaries of different government schemes.”