Rahul Gandhi meets Vijay before Chennai student event

Rahul Gandhi met Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay at Vijay’s residence in Chennai on October 10, ahead of a Congress student interaction scheduled for later that day. The meeting brought the Congress leader and the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam president together before Gandhi’s programme at Island Grounds, part of the party’s Chhatron Ki Goonj youth outreach campaign, also known in Tamil as Maanavargalin Kural. The leaders met at Vijay’s Neelankarai residence, according to reports of the visit. It was their first meeting since the Secular Social Justice Victory Alliance was formally named and TVK joined the INDIA bloc in Tamil Nadu. The alliance includes TVK, Congress, the Indian Union Muslim League and the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi. The meeting took place before the student event, which was scheduled for October 10 at Island Grounds. Congress had described the programme as an interaction with students rather than a conventional rally. The campaign is intended to engage young people on education and employment issues. Tamil Nadu Congress Committee chief Manickam Tagore said that 10,000 to 20,000 students who registered and received QR codes were expected to attend.