Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday resumed the Bharat Jodo Yatra from Thiroor in the district accompanied by hundreds of party workers holding banners and placards against the high cooking gas prices in the country.
The morning session of the 150-day-long yatra will cover a distance of around 11 km before concluding at Wadakkanchery around 11 a.m.
Senior Congress leaders including, K. Muraleedharan, K.C. Venugopal, Ramesh Chennithala, Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan and MPs from the district among others joined Mr. Gandhi in his walk. The Congress workers were carrying placards in the shape of gas cylinders highlighting steep cooking gas prices in the country.
Mr. Gandhi had on Saturday launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the rise in fuel and cooking gas prices, and charged that the BJP and the RSS were spreading hate and violence to distract people from such main issues.
"A gas cylinder used to cost ₹400 when the UPA government was in power. The Prime Minister went on complaining about the ₹400 for gas cylinders. But today he doesn't say a word about the ₹1,000 for gas cylinders," the Congress leader had said while addressing the crowd at Thrissur.
The Congress on Sunday asked the people to join it in its “historic movement as we march on to rebuild an India that is strong, self-reliant and among the leaders of the world.”
Women and children could be seen breaking the security cordon to meet Mr. Gandhi. The Congress leader was seen talking to them, clicking pictures and waving at the people who were waiting for him on both sides of the road.
Mr. Gandhi is expected to meet people from all walks of life during the break at Wadakkanchery. The yatra will resume at 5 p.m. and conclude at Cheruthuruthy in the district. The yatra will cover 3,570 km in 150 days. It started from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu on September 7 and will conclude in Jammu and Kashmir.
The yatra, which entered Kerala on the evening of September 10, will go through the State covering 450 km, touching seven districts in 19 days before entering Karnataka on October 1.
