RAMESH Chennithala, president of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC), on his visit to the Kingdom “to meet our colleagues who have a Congress background and faith in the Congress ideology,” said he would take up the demand of the Keralite community here for a budget flight to Kerala with the Indian prime minister and the civil aviation ministry. Chennithala, who met the Indian community in Dammam and Jeddah recently, told Saudi Gazette that one of the main issues raised by them concerned travel. “We will definitely pursue the demand for direct and cheap flights to India, especially to Kerala, with the relevant authorities,” said Chennithala, who was accompanied by M.M. Hassan, chairman of NORKA – Non-Resident Organization for Kerala Affairs. “The Air India Express should be introduced here,” he said, adding that flights to Cochin, Trivandrum and Calicut are in demand. “If a flight is introduced to Trivandrum, it can cover both Cochin and Calicut -- one single flight can touch three international airports,” Chennithala said. He said the other purpose of his visit was to promote the Jai Hind television channel, which is one of the main channels of Kerala. The channel belongs to the Congress Party, and was inaugurated by Sonia Gandhi, UPA (United Progressive Alliance) chairperson, a year ago. “We have an ambitious project to make the channel, which is currently in Malayalam, a national multi-lingual channel. It aims to promote secularism and national integration,” said Chennithala, adding that the channel has received a good response from Indians living in the Kingdom as well. Asked about the prospects of the Congress in the forthcoming election, he said: “The Congress-led UPA will make a comeback. For the last five years it has done a commendable job in addressing issues and problems faced by the people. The world recession has not affected India because of the strong economic measures introduced by the central government.” He said the Congress had won the recent assembly elections in Mizoram, Delhi and Rajasthan because “it protects secular and democratic values of the country, whereas the BJP-led coalition is trying to divide the people on communal lines.” Chennithala said that India has good relations with Saudi Arabia and with the Middle East. “There have been diplomatic and trade relations between the two countries for many years. The ties were further strengthened by the visit of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques to India in 2006. We are happy that the Indian and Saudi communities harmoniously work and live together here,” he said. On the Israel-Palestinian conflict, he said the Congress has always supported the Palestinian cause. He said US President Barack Obama has raised hopes and expectations not just in India, but all over the world. “India thinks that his policies and programs will bring peace and tranquility to Asia as well as to the Middle East. The world economic scenario will change, and so will the US policies, giving the world community a new look and a new direction,” Chennithala said.
