Looking for freedom, not plane to travel across India: Rahul Gandhi

New Delhi : Former Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday slammed Jammu and Kashmir governor's offer to send a plane for him to visit the state. He said, the need is of the freedom to travel, not plane.

"We won't need an aircraft but please ensure us the freedom to travel and meet the people, mainstream leaders and our soldiers stationed over there," replied the former Congress president.

On Monday, Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik had angrily responded to Rahul Gandhi's comment that there had been violence in Jammu and Kashmir in protest against the government's move to end special status and split the state into two union territories.

"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," Satya Pal Malik said.

The Governor, defending the centre's decisions, said there was "no communal angle" to the move. "The scrapping of Article 370 and Article 35A was for everyone. There is no communal angle (for scrapping it) in Leh, Kargil, Jammu, Rajouri-Poonch and not here either (Kashmir valley). There is no communal angle to it," he said.

"The foreign press has made an attempt and we have warned them. All hospitals are open for you and if even a single person has been hit by a bullet, prove it. But only four people were hit by pellets in legs when there was violence and there were no serious injuries to anyone," he said.