Overview
- Addressing a Maha Panchayat at Marine Drive, Gandhi contrasted Congress’s decentralisation stance with what he called BJP-RSS centralisation and efforts to silence citizens.
- He urged people to resist a 'culture of silence' tied to greed, expressed confidence of a UDF 'thumping' win in the assembly polls, and pressed allies to present a plan to tackle high unemployment.
- The event gathered Congress’s newly elected local-body representatives, framing the panchayat tier as the foundation of constitutional democracy.
- During the visit, Gandhi presented the Priyadarshini Literary Award to veteran writer and critic M Leelavathy.
- A circulating video showed party workers snatching a microphone from a Hindi-speaking youth during an interaction, drawing BJP commentary, while Gandhi was slated to head to Raebareli on January 20 for a 'MGNREGA Bachao' meeting.