Hyderabad, May 16 (DHNS): Congress on Friday hailed Rahul Gandhi’s Kisan Sandesh Yatra in Adilabad district a grand success, claiming that it rekindled the common man’s faith in the party.

The choice of Adilabad was significant, since it stood second in the number of farmers’ suicide following Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s home district of Medak since the state’s inception in June 2014.

Gandhi began the Padayatra from Koratikal village almost an hour and a half delay after his stay at a hotel in Nirmal town. He maintained a brisk pace to complete 15 kilometres of the Yatra in five hours.

“He reminds me of his grandmother Indira Gandhi who used to walk brisk,” said senior leader Dr Geetha Reddy. “In spite of a slight fever since Thursday night, Rahul surprised all of us.”
Unable to keep pace, former TPCC chief Ponnala Laxmaiah and former MP Madhu Yashi Goud broke into a slight run to stay abreast of Rahul.

Thousands of Congress workers waving banners and flags participated in the Padayatra from Koratikal to Vadial where the Yatra culminated into a public rally.

The Congress Vice-President made his first stop of the Yatra at the home of Velma Rajsekhar, the farmer who took his life, and consoled the family. He handed the family a cheque for Rs 2 lakh and asked them to use the money for the children’s education.

Rahul also visited residents of four other farmers -Laxmaiah and Bondla Lingayya of Laxmanchanda village, Satam Gangadhar of Rachapur and P Laxman of Vadial- handing each of them Rs 2 lakh from the party funds.

At Bondla Lingayya’s house, he enquired after the education of his three children.
He also met wage earners under the MGNREGA scheme in Potupalli and the family of Sankaraiah of Tirupalli village who died in Dubai.

Rahul disappointed party workers at Potupalli near Vadial, who had organised a grand lunch for him and other participants of the Yatra.