New Delhi: A torrent of emotion overwhelmed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday as he visited Kerala’s Wayanad and witnessed the massive havoc wreaked by monster landslides. While touring his former parliamentary constituency along with his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, he said he was feeling the same way he did when his father, former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, was assassinated in 1991.
“I now feel how I felt when my father died. The people here not just lost their father, but many members of their families. Hence their pain will be worse than what I felt. It was very difficult to talk to the people who lost many family members,” Rahul said while speaking to reporters.
Today, I feel the same way I did when my father passed away. Here, people have not just lost a father, but entire families.
We all owe these individuals respect and affection. The whole nation’s attention is focused on Wayanad.
: LoP Shri @RahulGandhi
📍 Wayanad, Kerala pic.twitter.com/miXtZm18mb
— Congress (@INCIndia) August 1, 2024
Calling it is a terrible tragedy for Wayanad, for Kerala and the nation, the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha said, “We have come here to assess the situation. It is painful to see how many people have lost family members and their homes. We will try to help and ensure that the survivors receive what they are due. Many of them want to be relocated. There is much that needs to be done here. I would like to thank all those involved, including doctors, nurses, the administration, and volunteers.”
“I don’t think this is the time or place to talk about political issues. People here require help. The time right now is to make sure that all assistance comes,” Rahul Gandhi pointed out. He added, “I am not interested in politics right now. I am interested in the people of Wayanad.”
After meeting the landslide survivors, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said, “We have spent the entire day meeting people who have suffered. It’s an immense tragedy. We can only imagine the kind of pain the people are enduring. We are here to offer as much comfort and support as possible.”