It was a large turnout that surprised even a few senior leaders of the party on Monday, but a sizeable section of the audience at the rally addressed by Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi in this coastal district returned disappointed at his lack of focus on the fishermen issue.
This was despite a delegation of fishermen leaders meeting Mr. Gandhi after he alighted from his helicopter and handed over a petition detailing the issues they face with the Sri Lankan Navy.
In his speech, the Nehru-family scion, made a fleeting reference to the problem, stating that he was aware that the fishermen of the region were having issues with the Sri Lankan Navy and efforts would be made to solve it at the earliest. There was no comment on how the issue would be resolved. Apart from this one remark, Mr. Gandhi made no attempts to delve into the sensitive issue which has its focus in the Ramanathapuram area.
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“We are quite disappointed. When they said he was coming to Ramanathapuram rather than going to Sivaganga, we thought he was coming here to take a strong stand on the fishermen’s issue. But this is not what we expected,” said Mugilan from Rameswaram.
A senior TNCC leader, on condition of anonymity, said Mr. Gandhi’s team was indeed briefed about the importance of the subject to the area. “We do not know why he did not spend more time on it. It was an opportunity to hit at the DMK and the AIADMK which have been blaming the Congress for the issue,” the functionary pointed out.
However, Mr. Gandhi, in his address, blamed the opposition of making no concrete declarations in their manifestos on how they were going to end corruption. He said if voted back to power, the Women Reservation Bill would be the first the Congress would pass.
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