Kollam: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who has been campaigning for his party in Kerala for the last two days, ventured into the Arabian Sea with fisherfolk from the Vaddy fishing harbour in Kollam district.
The Member of Parliament from Wayanad, who arrived at Vadi beach at 4.30am, took off from the harbour at 5.15am on Wednesday in a fishing boat and spent nearly one hour out in the sea with the fishermen. He also cast the net and engaged in fishing along with them.
Clad in blue t-shirt and khaki trousers, the Congress leader could be seen waving hands to the onlookers from the boat while reaching back to the shores.
According to party sources, he went with the fishermen to understand their problems and concerns first hand. He was accompanied by a few party leaders, including AICC General Secretary K C Venugopal and T N Prathapan, MLA, the national chairman of the All India Fishermen Congress.
No coincidence
It is notable as Gandhi took the adventure at a time when the Left Democratic Front Government in Kerala has found themselves in murky waters over a deep-sea fishing contract between the Kerala Shipping and Inland Navigation Corporation (KSINC) and US firm EMCC International. The deal is allegedly against the interests of the fisherfolk and the government's official policy.
Rahul Gandhi has also interacted with the fishermen at Thangassery beach in the district. During the interaction, Gandhi said he always wanted to experience the life of fishermen.
"Early this morning, I went to sea with my brothers. From the moment the boat went and came back, they took the entire risk... their entire labour. They sought to the sea, buy the net and somebody else gets the profit," Gandhi said.
"We tried to fish but got only one. Even with this investment, the net came back empty. This was my experience," he added.
Gandhi further said he would strive to have a separate ministry for fisheries at the Centre. "So that the issues of fishing community can be defended and protected," he said adding that the UDF leaders in the state would soon hold discussions with the fisherfolk to prepare a separate manifesto for them during the impending assembly polls.
Taking a dig at the LDF government apparently over the ongoing controversy related to the alleged deep sea fishing contract, the Congress leader said he would like to see what they were going to do with the trawlers.
"I am for competition...but not for unfair competition. So, there should be a level playing field for everyone," he added.
(With PTI inputs)
