Rahul calls on Kerala CM Vijayan

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi met Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan here on Tuesday, during which he raised the issue of the floods in the southern state and sought an early resolution to the problems people were facing.

Gandhi was accompanied by party general secretary KC Venugopal and I C Balakrishnan, the Congress MLA from Sulthan Bathery that falls within his Lok Sabha constituency Wayanad.

During his meeting with Vijayan, Gandhi also discussed the issue relating to night traffic ban on National Highway-766.

The Congress delegation also took stock of the post-flood relief-and-rehabilitation efforts initiated by the CPI(M)-led LDF government in Kerala and urged Vijayan to ensure a time-bound payment of compensations and roll out flood mitigation measures.

After the meeting, Gandhi said he discussed the flood situation in Kerala with Vijayan.

"I am not going to get into details, but basically we mentioned the flood situation and the need for quick compensation, the night travel ban and the troubles the people are facing there," he told reporters.

The former Congress chief said he told Vijayan that he wanted to give a sense to the government that this was a serious situation, which needed to be addressed urgently.

Asked about the chief minister's response, Gandhi said, "He said they are talking to the Centre and they are trying. He assured us that they are trying to resolve the issue. It is causing a lot of pain to the people of Kerala and Wayanad and I think it needs to be tackled at the earliest."