Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay is hosting Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and senior Congress leaders for lunch
TNCC president Manickam Tagore and other party functionaries accorded a warm reception to Rahul Gandhi at Chennai airport. He then proceeded to Vijay’s residence for the lunch meeting, which is expected to strengthen ties between the two parties. The meeting also comes against the backdrop of protests demanding the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, which Rahul Gandhi has supported, and the TVK government’s action against students protesting in Chennai over the same issue. The contrasting positions could bring the issue into focus during Rahul Gandhi’s visit, even as the two parties seek to strengthen their alliance. Later, Rahul Gandhi will interact with students at Island Grounds as part of the Congress’s nationwide ‘Voice of Students’ (Manavargalin Kural) campaign. This will be his sixth such interaction under the initiative, which aims to highlight issues affecting students and young people.
The meeting comes a day after the TVK-led front won its first electoral test, retaining the Madurantakam and Dharapuram assembly constituencies in the October 6 bypolls. CHENNAI: Chief minister C Joseph Vijay is hosting Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and senior Congress leaders for lunch at his Neelankarai residence on Saturday, in a show of bonhomie between the alliance partners.