Rahul misses Rayagada public meeting, sends video message

RAYAGADA: The much-awaited public meeting of Rahul Gandhi at Rayagada which was expected to invigorate the old Congress bastion in undivided Koraput district ended in a whimper with the former party president failing to make it since he had to proceed to file nominations at Raebareli on Friday.

Instead, the 50,000-strong gathering watched his video message where the former party president said the Congress always safeguarded the Constitution and ensured justice to scheduled caste, scheduled tribe, farmers and other downtrodden where as the Narendra Modi-led BJP has deprived the poor of their fundamental rights.

In the message, Rahul said the Modi-led NDA government is protecting the interest of billionaire industrialists who have looted wealth of the people. He reiterated that the five guarantees for women, unemployment youth, farmers, labourers and tribals.

Anticipating a big show, the Congress had made elaborate arrangements for the public meeting. Koraput MP Saptagiri Shankar Ulaka organised the meeting while a number of party candidates from the region, Odisha prabhari Dr Ajoy Kumar, deputy Chief Minister of Telangana Mallu Bhatti Viramarka and PCC chief Sarat Pattanayak were present, expecting the event to change the dynamics in the region.