Mysuru/Mangaluru/Gonikoppa: All India Congress Committee (AICC) President Rahul Gandhi, who is on a campaign trail in the State to woo voters for the Assembly polls for which the voting is scheduled on May 12, visited Suttur Mutt in Mysuru, Sri Dharmasthala Manjunateshwara Temple in Dharmasthala besides trying to connect with the Kodavas during the public rally at Gonikoppa in Kodagu yesterday.
Suttur Mutt: Rahul Gandhi, who was in city yesterday night, visited Suttur Mutt at the foot of Chamundi Hill here and sought the blessings of Suttur Seer Sri Shivarathri Deshikendra Swamiji.
Accompanied by Chief Minister Siddharamaiah and party in-charge in the State K.C. Venugopal in the car, Rahul Gandhi who arrived at the Mutt at about 9.10 pm last night was given a warm welcome at the Mutt. The Seer later presented the statue of Goddess Chamundeshwari and blessed Rahul Gandhi who held talks with the Seer for sometime and left the Mutt at about 9.40 pm.
MP R. Dhruvanarayan, Ministers Dr. H.C. Mahadevappa and Dr. Geetha Mahadevaprasad, AICC Secretary P.C. Vishnunath and others were present.
Rahul Gandhi later left for Delhi in a special place from Mysore Airport at Mandakalli.
Dharmasthala: AICC President Rahul Gandhi, who released the Congress Manifesto in Mangaluru, visited Sri Dharmasthala Manjunatheshwara Temple at Dharmasthala and sought the blessings of Dharmasthala Dharmadhikari Dr. Veerendra Heggade.
Upon his arrival, Rahul Gandhi was welcomed by D. Surendra Kumar, brother of Dr. Veerendra Heggade at the helipad.
Rahul was taken to the residence of the Dharmadhikari where he (Rahul Gandhi) held talks for sometime and later visited Sri Manjunateshwara Temple where he offered prayers.
Rahul was later served lunch which included chapathi, banana palya, green salad, pulao, plain rice, pickle, rasam, sambar, majjige huli, papad, curds, butter milk, holige and mango rasayana among other dishes. He later left for Gonikoppa in Kodagu.
Gonikoppa: Continuing his campaign trail, Rahul Gandhi flew from Dharmasthala to Gonikoppa in Kodagu in the evening, where he tried to connect with the Kodavas by terming Kodagu district as the most beautiful place in the country besides stating that he would come to Kodagu after the elections. Addressing a mammoth rally at the Dasara Grounds here, Rahul Gandhi took a dig at BJP and promised the development of Kodagu if Congress is voted to power.
Continuing his tirade against the BJP, he stated that corruption and attacks on women, minorities and Dalits were at its peak under PM Modi’s regime. Rahul Gandhi spoke without a translator and succeeded in reaching out to the audience.
Chief Minister Siddharamaiah, who also spoke, recalled his student days to connect himself with Kodagu. The CM challenged the BJP to come for an open debate on the achievements of the Government.
Kodagu Minister M.R. Sitharam, State Congress In-Charge K.C. Venugopal, MLC Veena Achaiah and others were present.
This post was published on April 28, 2018 6:43 pm