Rain God provides relief to organisers of Sonia meeting

Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, Sep 1 (UNI) The ruling Congress, which left no stone unturned to make the visit of party supremo and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi a grand success today, heaved a sigh of relief as bright weather greeted the city.

Under the influence of a system in the Bay of Bengal, heavy rains yesterday pounded B R Stadium, venue of the public meeting, inundating most parts of the stadium.

Congress workers, under the supervision of senior party leaders, including Transport Minister K Lakshminaryana, toiled all night to make the stadium fit for the meeting. The stadium was packed to the capacity, an hour before her arrival.

Ms Gandhi, dressed in a maroon and black checked saree, drew a huge applause from party activists when she started her address in Telugu.

Making a reference to the Guntur people's attachment to the Congress, she said she was overwhelmed by the love and affection shown by them who treated late Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi as their own family members.

Ms Gandhi expressed her happiness on visiting Tumuluru village, which was visited by Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi during the freedom struggle and later by successive Prime Ministers, including Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi.

Party activists, who could not find a place, climbed atop the huge cutouts of Ms Gandhi and Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, erected in the stadium to catch a glimpse of the leaders. Some of the activists secured a vantage position on top of the gallery.

The Chief Minister drew loud cheers when he referred to the launching of the Pulichintala project and modernisation of the Nagarjunasagar project canals to ensure water to the fields of farmers of Guntur district.

UNI