On the fourth day of its Kerala leg, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s Bharath Jodo Yatra was accorded a warm reception when it entered Kollam district at Paraipally on Wednesday morning.
While a large number of party workers were present to greet the leader, a lot of people, including senior citizens and children, waited on both sides as the foot march crossed different points.
Mr. Gandhi was welcomed by District Congress Committee president P. Rajendraprasad and N.K. Premachadran, MP, who were accompanied by senior leaders, including Rajmohan Unnithan, Soorandu Rajasekharan, C.R Mahesh, Shanavaz Khan, Bindu Krishna, K.C Rajan, Mohan Shankar and R. Chandrasekharan.
He interacted with select school students at Empire Convention Centre and distributed prizes to the winners of a painting competition held in connection with the yatra. Mr. .Gandhi held discussion with former Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president C.V. Padmarajan.
At Kalluvathukkal, he made a surprise detour to the house of Shanta, one of the elderly women who waited for him at the Parayil colony junction. When Shanta said she was staying nearby and pointed to the house, Mr. Gandhi walked to the house and spend some time with the people gathered around him.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi takes a selfie with students during an interaction with them at Kollam on Wednesday.
Shanta, who runs a small petty shop, was elated to host the leader. He asked about the family of Shanta and also spoke to some other women who thronged her house.
While interacting with the students, Mr. Gandhi said he was not a fan of the present education system in India. Pointing out that the same lessons he learned 25 years ago were now being taught to his sister’s children, he said the world had changed a lot since then.
“Learning systems have evolved over the time, but this change is not reflected in our education,” he said.
Talking about his opinion of Kerala, he said he felt genuine affection for the people of Kerala. “No matter how much affection I give, I get more. The people of Kerala give me a lot of strength in doing my work,” said Mr. Gandhi, who also watched a Bharatanatyam performance by Laxman Raj of SN Trust Central School, Kollam.
