Rahul Gandhi in Kerala (ANI photo)

NEW DELHI: After a long silence post the drubbing in Lok Sabha elections, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Friday once again attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the NDA government at the Centre.

Rahul, who visited his Lok Sabha constituency of Wayanad in Kerala to thank the people for his victory, accused PM Modi and the current government of spreading hatred in the country.

"Congress party knows and understands that the only way to combat hatred is through love and affection," he said.

"We're committed to defending space of opposition, defending weak people in this country, defending people who are under attack by Mr Modi's policies & Mr Modi himself," the Congress president said.

Thousands of people braved heavy rains to welcome Rahul Gandhi, who won from Wayanad with a record margin of 431,770 votes.

Rahul expressed gratitude to the people and said that he will raise issues of Wayanad residents as well as that of the people of Kerala in the Lok Sabha.

"No matter which party you come from, overwhelmingly you have given me your support. My door is open to every single citizen of Wayanad. As I am MP from Kerala, it is my responsibility to raise not only issues of Wayanad's people but also the people of Kerala in the Lok Sabha," Rahul said while addressing the people.

The Congress president arrived at the Kozhikode airport at around 2.45pm and was received by state Congress president Mullapally Ramachandran, leader of opposition Ramesh Chennithala and top leaders from the Indian Union Muslim League .

Rahul plans to conduct roadshows in each of the seven assembly constituencies in Wayanad over a period of three days.

His first roadshow was at Kallikavu, which forms part of the Wandoor assembly segment in Malappuram district.

Arriving in a convoy of 100 vehicles, Rahul Gandhi, accompanied by senior party leaders, was in an open vehicle and despite heavy rain, thousands of people waited cheerfully to see him.

He assured the people that Wayanad's issues would be raised in the Lok Sabha.

Rahul's next stop was Nilambur which was a similar sight as thousands of people, including women and children, waited to see him.

Rahul will spend the night in Wayanad and on Saturday morning he will resume his roadshows. On Sunday, he will fly back from Kozhikode to Delhi.

(With inputs from agencies)

