Rahul and Sonia Wash Plates After Meal in Sevagram Ashram on Gandhi Jayanti

Congress president Rahul Gandhi and his mother and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi washed their utensils after having a meal at Sevagram in Maharashtra's Wardha district on Tuesday.

The two Congress leaders along with several others of the party high command like Manmohan Singh were present at the Sevagram Ashram to participate in a prayer meet on the 149th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. The ashram was the residence of Gandhi during his last years.

Rahul also planted a sapling in the ashram next to the tree that his father and former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi had planted on this day in 1986. This is Rahul's second visit to the ashram. He had earlier planted a sapling here on January 24, 2014.

The Congress leadership had converged in Sevagram to attend the meeting of the Congress Working Committee, the highest decision-making body of the party, which was held here after more than 70 years.

Rahul also led a foot march to mark the start of Mahatma Gandhi's 150th birth anniversary celebrations and to give a message against what the party called the "atmosphere of fear" in the country.

Congress leaders like K C Venugopal, R P N Singh, state unit president Ashok Chavan, Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Assembly Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil and others joined Rahul as he began the march after garlanding a statue of the Father of the Nation near the district collector's office here.

The march culminated at the Circus Ground (in Ramnagar locality) here, where the Congress president was set to address a rally. Rahul Gandhi walked for around 50 minutes before reaching the rally venue, a Congress leader said.

The Congress is seeking return to power at the Centre and also in Maharashtra following its drubbing at the hands of the BJP in the 2014 Lok Sabha and state Assembly polls.