Zee Media Bureau
New Delhi: Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Monday arrived in Uttarakhand to take stock of rescue operations, days after rains wrought havoc in the mountainous state.
Rahul Gandhi, who faced flak from the opposition for his absence at the time of the Uttarakhand disaster, will visit the AICC control room set up in Dehradun to monitor the relief work being done by the party.
He is also expected to meet the victims during his visit, party sources said.
Earlier in the day, Rahul along with his mother, Sonia Gandhi, flagged off trucks carrying relief materials to calamity-hit Uttarakhand.
Trucks carried food articles, medicines, clothes and blankets for the flood-affected people.
Last week, the Congress had downplayed the absence of Rahul Gandhi, who was reportedly out of the country when the tragedy struck Uttarakhand, adding the party`s top leadership, including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and chief Sonia Gandhi, were monitoring the rescue and relief operations in the flood-hit hill state.
"It should not matter who has gone (to flood-hit areas) and who has not. The focus should be on rescue and relief operations. Both Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and party chief Sonia Gandhi are monitoring the situation. VIP visits hamper relief operations. Sonia Gandhi has not visited Uttarakhand keeping this in mind. She will visit as soon as the situation improves," Congress spokesperson Raj Babbar had told reporters when asked about Rahul Gandhi`s absence when both the party and the government are busy battling the massive tragedy.
Both the Prime Minister and Sonia Gandhi had conducted an aerial survey of the flood-hit areas of Uttarakhand on Wednesday.
(With Agency inputs)
