Gandhis wrap up Wayanad visit: Meetings, tributes and unexpected appearances

Wayanad (Kerala), Sep 22 (PTI) Senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi and her son, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, left for New Delhi on Monday after concluding a three-day private visit, a party source said here.

They departed in a chartered flight from Karipur International Airport near Kozhikode.

Sonia and Rahul, who had arrived on Friday during the constituency visit of Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, attended a few programmes, including paying floral tributes to Sree Narayana Guru on his Mahasamadhi Day in Kalpetta on Sunday.

Sonia and Priyanka also made an unexpected appearance at the "Walk Against Drugs" campaign led by senior Congress leader and Nehru family loyalist Ramesh Chennithala in Wayanad on Friday. Their convoy happened to pass the venue just as the anti-drug pledge concluded.

"Stopping the car, Sonia asked where Ramesh Chennithala was. Chennithala, who had been standing at one side of the stage after the programme, came near the car. Expressing happiness at meeting him, Sonia enquired about the programme and shared her appreciation," a Congress leader said.

During this Wayanad visit, Sonia and Priyanka were not scheduled to attend any public events, but they made an unplanned stop at Chennithala's programme, he added.

On Friday, Sonia and Priyanka met coffee growers in the hill district to hear first-hand the challenges facing the industry. They also visited the Swaminathan Research Foundation in Kalpetta, where they toured the nursery and plantation.

The two MPs planted saplings and interacted with Foundation chairperson Soumya Swaminathan via video conference.

On Saturday, Rahul and Priyanka inaugurated an auditorium named after late Congress leader and former Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy at Kottathara village council in Wayanad.

On Monday evening, Priyanka chaired a meeting in Malappuram district with officials at the district headquarters on the Assembly segments that fall under the Wayanad constituency.

After the meeting, she told reporters that they had reviewed development works, including those under MPLADS and PMGSY.

"Some of them are going well, some are not going so well. We reviewed that," she said.

Priyanka, who had earlier visited the Cholanaikar tribal community, said the meeting also discussed ways to address their problems.

She is expected to leave for Delhi later in the evening, party sources added. PTI TGB TGB KH