Jammu, Sep 27 (IANS): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi Tuesday asked the youths in Jammu and Kashmir to join the party, saying the Congress will protect their interests.

"I am one of you," he told a gathering at Rajouri, 160 km north of here, on the second leg of his two-day visit of Jammu and Kashmir.

Rajouri is located less than 20 km from the Line of Control (LoC) that divides Jammu and Kashmir between India and Pakistan.

On his arrival here earlier, Gandhi was given a rousing reception by Congress activists. He came from Srinagar and flew to Rajouri to keep his date with the people of border areas in Jammu region.

Gandhi told Congress workers that major posts in the party would be filled by elections and not through nomination. "So I suggest that you prepare the party cadres and get elected to the posts."

He promised to take up with the central government the demand for a rail link to the border districts of Rajouri and Poonch.