Malappuram: Wayanad MP and AICC General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra met Samastha Kerala Jem-iyyathul Ulama president Syed Jifri Muthukkoya Thangal at his residence in Malappuram on Sunday. Malappuram District Congress Committee president V S Joy also accompanied her.

After the meeting, Thangal told the media that it was an “encouraging interaction.” He said he urged the Congress leadership to take firm steps to safeguard secular values, to which Priyanka responded that her family has always stood to protect secularism and will continue to do so.

Thangal described the meeting as a courtesy call, recalling that Priyanka had phoned him while filing her nomination papers from Wayanad, seeking his prayers and expressing a wish to meet in person. Her aides later followed up to arrange the meeting.

He added that concerns of the minority community were also raised during the talks. “She assured us that everything necessary will be done. We are not politicians, but we conveyed our concerns to her,” Thangal said.