Wayanad: Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Saturday claimed that the country was going through a period where the government at the Centre was doing everything "to weaken the Constitution and democracy in India". Priyanka, the Wayanad MP, was speaking at a booth level leaders meeting at Mananthavady assembly constituency here where she said that till date victims of the landslides that hit the high range district are facing housing troubles and have not received adequate compensation.
The Congress leader said that the central government "at least" declared the Wayanad landslides as "a disaster of severe nature due to our efforts in the Lok Sabha" and expressed hope that as a result more funds will be received for the rehabilitation of the victims. She also referred to the various instances of loss of lives due to wild animal attacks in the district and said that the human-animal conflict was also leading to loss of livelihoods.
Priayanka said the last time she was here in Wayanad, the district administration said that it needed more funds to mitigate the human-animal conflicts and to ensure safety of the people. "I said I will work with them and that together we will try to find as much funding as we can to help them to do the work they need to do and also find new types of solutions for the problem," she said.
The Wayanad MP said that she will also continue to address the other issues, like the needs of the tribals, lack of medical college in Mananthavady, night travel restrictions and boosting tourism in the district. She also praised and thanked the booth-level leaders and workers for helping her win in the LS bypoll and urged them to be available for the people everyday and not just during elections.
Later, she held booth-level meetings at Sulthan Bathery and Kalpetta assembly constituencies. In the evening, she attended the festival at the Lourde Matha Church at Pallikkunnu in Kalpetta, party sources said. She lit a candle and prayed before leaving the church.
Priyanka had visited the church during her Lok Sabha bypoll campaign and at that time the church vicar had invited her to the festival, the sources said. Priyanka arrived at Kannur airport in the morning and travelled to Wayanad by road. On Sunday, she will hold meetings with booth-level leaders in Eranad and Thiruvambadi assembly constituencies.
On Monday, she will hold meetings with booth-level leaders at Wandoor and Nilambur assembly constituencies and will also visit families of a few victims of wild animal attacks, the sources said. This is her second visit to Wayanad after she won the Lok Sabha bypoll from there.
Earlier, on January 28, Priyanka visited the high range district to meet the family of a woman who was killed by a tiger on January 24 when she was out collecting coffee beans at the Priyadarshini Estate in Mananthavady village in Wayanad.
She also visited the family of N M Vijayan, former district office-bearer of the party, who, along with his son, died by suicide in December last year.
