Cong changes route of Priyanka’s procession
LUCKNOW: The Congress has made changes in the proposed route that party chief Rahul Gandhi and newly appointed general secretaries Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Jyotiraditya Scindia will take to the party’s state headquarters in Lucknow from the Chaudhary Charan Singh international airport here on Monday due to security reasons.
Uttar Pradesh Congress president Raj Babbar said, “We have avoided certain areas for security reasons and adjustments have been made in the route initially suggested to welcome the top Congress leaders. We are making arrangements to accord the Congress leaders a grand welcome.” Later in the evening, Babbar reviewed the preparations for the visit. A senior party leader said, “Yes, changes have been made in the route from the airport on the request of the district administration and security agencies. There is no change in the route from Amausi airport to the Burlington Hotel crossing here. After this point, the route has been changed now. Instead of moving towards Vidhan Sabha, the Congress procession will now proceed towards Lalbagh and reach GPO Park via Hazratganj and thereafter go to the UPCC headquarters via Raj Bhawan and the VVIP guest house. We agreed to avoid the Vidhan Sabha route as the assembly is in session.”
As this is Priyanka’s first visit to the state after her appointment, a team of party functionaries who have worked closely with her in Rae Bareli and Amethi
have also reached here to oversee the preparations for her visit. A number of hoardings are coming up along the route. Portraits of India’s first Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru, former Prime Ministers late Indira Gandhi and the late Rajiv Gandhi are being put up in the corridors of the main UPCC building.