A suggestion made by a newly elected Rajya Sabha member from the state—asking for umbrellas instead of shawls, bouquets and mementoes from those who would want to celebrate his election—met with resounding success, as he received about 2,000 umbrellas at a single event.
These umbrellas will be distributed among children from economically weaker families before the start of a new academic year, which coincides with monsoons in Kerala.
A A Rahim, Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPM) leader who was elected as a Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament recently, made the request of ‘useful gifts’ as the shawls and other souvenirs received by him were not useful.
“The shawls and mementos being presented by well-wishers are remaining unused. Since those were gifts, it could not be discarded. Hence, I thought of urging the people to present useful items like umbrellas so that it could be presented to children from weaker sections,” said Rahim, who is also the national president of CPM's youth wing Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI).
On Monday, at the felicitation ceremony organised for him at his village Manikkal, near Venjaramoodu in the suburbs of Thiruvananthapuram, Rahim received around 2,000 umbrellas. People could be seen queuing up to present him with umbrellas. Some individuals even presented umbrellas in bulk numbers.
All the umbrellas would be distributed among the children from economically weaker families as the schools reopen, Rahim announced.
According to him, the various challenges that the DYFI faced while helping people inspired him to urge his well-wishers to present any useful items instead of charming keepsakes. He also said he wished more political leaders would make similar calls so that the weaker sections might benefit from it.