The city turned into a sea of saffron on Tuesday as thousands of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers participated in the concluding leg of the Janaraksha Yatra, led by party State president Kummanam Rajasekharan.
Activists representing each of the 14 Assembly constituency units of the party in the district converged at Pattom Junction to join the rally as it was flagged off by Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Ashwini Kumar Choubey.
Providing an impetus to the yatra, the Kerala party workers were joined by activists from Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Delhi.
BDJS also joins
Workers of the Bharath Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS) also joined the rally near University College.
Though BJP president Amit Shah was expected to join the rally at Pattom, he made the much-awaited appearance near the Martyrs’ Column at Palayam, much to the joy of the workers. After travelling in an open jeep for a short distance, he proceeded on foot until the rally culminated at Putharikandam Maidanam.
Besides Mr. Choubey and Mr. Rajasekharan, Mr. Shah was accompanied by Union Minister of State for Highways and Shipping Pon Radhakrishnan; Union Minister of State for Tourism Alphons Kannanthanam; Richard Hay and Suresh Gopi, MPs; BJP SC Morcha president Vinod Kumar Sonkar, MP; O. Rajagopal, MLA; BJP secretary H. Raja; and BDJS president Thushar Vellappally. The rally featured tableaux that projected its main theme of ‘CPI (M) violence and jihadi terror.’
Blames CPI(M)
Earlier, flagging off the rally’s final leg, Mr. Choubey lashed out at the CPI(M) for allegedly unleashing violence on its political rivals.
He claimed that the yatra had succeeded in awakening those who believed in democratic ideals across the country. Meanwhile, traffic went haywire in many parts of the city with the police deciding to divert vehicular traffic away from the route of the yatra, which commenced from Sreekaryam and proceeded along Pongumoodu, Kochulloor, Ulloor, Kesavadasapuram and Pattom, where the participants dispersed for lunch break.
Later, they regrouped at Pattom and proceeded along Plammoodu, Palayam, Statue, Pulimoodu and Ayurveda College Junction to reach Putharikandam Maidan.
As the rally progressed, the main thoroughfares remained blocked and traffic moved in fits and starts along the alternative routes.