Rahul Gandhi pays tribute to Mahatma at Badanavalu's Khadi Centre

The Khadi Gramudyog Centre at Badanavalu near Mysuru was visited by Mahatma Gandhi in 1927

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi paid tributes to Mahatma Gandhi on his 153rd birth anniversary by visiting the Khadi Gramudyog Centre at Badanavalu village near Mysuru on Sunday.

On the 25th day of his Bharat Jodo Yatra, Mr Gandhi visited the khadi spinning and weaving centre at Badanavalu, which had also been visited by Mahatma Gandhi in 1927, before interacting with the weavers of the centre.

Earlier, he participated in a bhajan programme at Badanavalu and offered floral tributes to a bust of Mahatma Gandhi. He also planted a sapling at the Khadi Gramudyog Centre.

As part of the Shramadhan, Mr Gandhi laid the interlocking tiles of a newly laid lane connecting the settlements of Dalits and Lingayats in the village, besides applying paint to the walls of an anganwadi nearby.

The lane is symbolic of the efforts of the party to unite different sections of the society, said a Congress leader recalling the clashes between the two communities about three decades ago.

Mr Gandhi was accompanied by a host of leaders including former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, KPCC Chief D K Shivakumar, AICC General Secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala and others.

Meanwhile, in a statement released by Mr Rahul Gandhi on the occasion, he said "We remember and pay our respects to that great son of India. Our remembering is made more poignant by the fact that we are on the 25th day of the Bharat Jodo Yatra, a padyatra in which we are walking his path of ahimsa, unity, equality and justice".