Rahul Gandhi to visit cyclone-hit villages in Thiruvananthapuram today
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: AICC president-elect Rahul Gandhi will arrive at the airport here on Thursday at 11 am on a whirlwind trip. Mr Gandhi will visit cyclone-affected coastal villages here and in Kanyakumari and address the birth centenary celebrations of the late RSP leader Baby John and a rally marking the culmination of Opposition Leader Ramesh Chennithala's Padayoruk- kam roadshow statewide.
From the technical area of the Thiruvananthapuram airport, he will leave for Poonthura at 11:30 am and will reach Vizhinjam at 12:30 pm where he will meet the fishing families. He will then fly to Kanyakumari by helicopter and meet fishers at St. Jude's College ground, Chinnathurai. Later by 3:45 pm, he will fly back to the city to attend the birth Baby John memorial at Thycaud Police Ground and address UDF workers at Central Stadium at 5.30 pm.
Mr Chennithala said 100,000 supporters from across the state will join the rally. Earlier, Mr Gandhi was scheduled to attend Padayorukkam conclusion programme on Dec 1, a day after Cyclone Ockhi hit the Kerala coast, which had to be called off. "The whole nation is eager to hear the words of Rahul Gandhi when he is expected to take over the mantle of Congress party on Saturday," Mr Chennithala said. “Padayorukkam was held to highlight the anti-people policies of the BJP and LDF Governments. When it concluded here on Nov 30, the state government proved once again that they were a failure in tackling a crisis like a cyclone.”
He said the huge turnout at the stops of his roadshow manifested people's anger with the government and his signature campaign received more than a crore endorsements. Rahul Gandhi is expected to return to New Delhi by 7:30 pm.
