X: @the_news_21
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi abruptly halted his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra on Saturday in Varanasi and left for his Lok Sabha constituency in Kerala, Wayanad.
Jairam Ramesh, Congress general secretary in charge of communications, stated that Gandhi’s urgent presence was required in Wayanad. He announced Gandhi’s departure from Varanasi at 5 PM and the resumption of the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Prayagraj on Sunday.
The ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra,’ the second phase of Congress’s nationwide outreach program, had entered Varanasi on the second day of its Uttar Pradesh leg. Gandhi, accompanied by the party’s state president Ajay Rai and other Congress leaders, toured the temple town and visited the Kashi Vishwanath temple.
Gandhi’s visit to Wayanad follows a tragic incident where a man, seriously injured in another wild elephant attack on Friday morning, succumbed to his injuries at the Kozhikode medical college. The victim, Paul, was an eco-tourism guide stationed at Kuruva Island, a protected river delta on the Kabini River, a well-known tourist destination.
This incident adds to the recent spate of wild elephant attacks in Wayanad. Last week, Aji (42) was trampled to death by an elephant in the Mananthavady area of the district, sparking massive protests. In response, a district-wide hartal was called in Wayanad on Saturday to demand permanent solutions to the man-animal conflicts in the region. Shops and businesses remained closed, and vehicles were off the roads across the district.
The hartal, called by the ruling LDF, opposition UDF, and BJP, turned violent in Pulpally, with protesters damaging a forest department vehicle and tying a cow atop it, which was killed in a suspected tiger attack earlier in the day.
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