Congress president Rahul Gandhi has said that he is committed to resolving major issues of the public in the hill district of Wayanad.
Addressing a public meeting held in connection with his election campaign here on Wednesday, Mr. Gandhi said he was standing in front of the public not to deliver ‘mann ki bath’, instead to learn and find solution for major and complex issues in the region.
“Issues such as increasing man-animal conflicts; conflict between development and environment; night-traffic ban on the Kozhikode-Kollegal National Highway 212; and health-care issues had put the lives of the public in distress,” Mr. Gandhi said, adding that all the issues could be amicably solved.
“I am standing before you as not a politician but as a brother or son to understand the issues of the people in the region,” Mr. Gandhi said.
“The Congress has been fighting against the ideology of the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh for the past five years,” Mr. Gandhi said, asking why organisations were trying to impose their ideology on the public, who belonged to divergent views.
Peaceful co-existence
Stating the reason for his decision to contest in Wayanad, Mr. Gandhi said he wanted to represent the people in South India too as the people in the South were as important as the people in the northern part of the country. “Moreover, the hardworking people in Wayanad have set a model in peaceful co-existence to the country and I would like to show the region to Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” he said.
Coming down heavily on the election promises of Mr. Modi, Mr. Gandhi said he was not making promises, like the Prime Minister, such as making a deposit of ₹15 lakh each in the bank accounts of the public or job opportunities to two crore youths or solving all the issues of farmers. “But I commit myself to working with the people in the region as I respect their wisdom and am interested in making a long-lasting connection with them,” he added.