Padayorukkkam' from today amidst solar glare

Thiruvananthapuram: Opposition Leader Ramesh Chennithala, who begins his ‘Padayorukkam’ at Kumbala in Kasargod on Wednesday, aims at emerging as the  unchallenged leader in the UDF.  CWC member  A. K. Antony  will flag off the yatra at 3. 30  p.m. This is the sixth yatra Mr Chennithala is undertaking after he started his political journey as KSU president in 1980. But his most significant one  was the Kerala March taken out as Youth Congress president. As PCC chief in 2005 and later in 2009, he led the Chaitanya Yatra and Kerala Raksha Yatra respectively. He also conducted a  Kerala Yatra in 2013 during his tenure as PCC president.

The yatra will be stopped for a day when the solar judicial commission report will be tabled in the  Assembly on November  9. “Chennithala will have  a tough time defending the Congress after the solar report is tabled.  Usually such yatras are held ahead of  elections. Since the other two fronts had gone ahead with their yatras, there had to be a counter  yatra by  the Congress,”  said a top UDF leader.

The media attention may be diverted from the  ‘Padayorukkam’ to the solar scam report.  The yatra  will reach Kozhikode on November  8 and will take a break the next day for the Assembly session. “Padayorukkam is against the anti-people  policies of the central and state governments. AICC vice-president Rahul Gandhi will address  the conclusion of the  yatra at Shanghumugham grounds on December 1,”  said UDF convener P. P. Thankachan. Former prime minister Manmohan Singh and a slew of national leaders like Mukul Wasnik, P. Chidambaran and  Sharad Yadav will  attend  the yatra at various district-level meetings.