THIRUVAMBADI (KOZHIKODE): The blistering temperature was at its peak, but the small town of Thiruvambady was crowded with thousands of UDF workers and supporters from many parts of the district and they assembled at the Sacred Heart High School ground to hear Congress president Rahul Gandhi.
Hours before the arrival of their leader, the ground was full as party workers which included a large number of women and children donning Congress caps and holding party flags unmindful of the mid-day heat. When Congress president Rahul Gandhi reached the venue at 1.25 pm, thousands of Congress workers and UDF supporters welcomed him by shouting slogans.
Rahul started his speech at 1.45 pm by wishing everyone a Happy Easter. Throughout his half-an-hour-long speech, the crowd was seen shouting slogans and clapping expressing their support to their ‘future prime minister’.
Impressing the people, Rahul started his speech by saying ‘I came here as your son, your brother and your friend. So, I could not lie to you like our Prime Minister. Because, no one could lie to his parents, brother or friends’.
In his speech, Rahul spared the Left parties, while he strongly criticised the BJP, the NDA and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing him of making false promises. Rahul stressed the importance of culture, history and language of the hill district. He also made promises to the people of Wayanad, mainly farmers, to address their issues if his government comes to power.
“I don’t want to conduct my own ‘Mann Ki Baat like Modi, but I want to initiate people’s Mann Ki Baat to address your issues,” he said.
KPCC president Mullappally Ramachandran, AICC general secretary and former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, AICC general secretary K C Venugopal, IUML leaders Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal, M K Muneer, Ummer Pandikasala, UDF candidate for Kozhikode M K Raghavan, Kerala Congress (M) district president T M Jacob shared the dais with Rahul Gandhi.