It was clear, at the very outset, that the public gathering Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi was to address would be more of an interactive session than a one-way conversation.
It was clear, at the very outset, that the public gathering Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi was to address would be more of an interactive session than a one-way conversation. And several questions were hurled at him in course of the function.
When a college student asked him, "Can you provide the country the kind of security that Gujarat has provided to its citizens?" Rahul shot back, "Modi has incurred a huge cost for Gujarat's development. Even evil leaders like Mao Zedong are good at development."
Gandhi further said, "The interests of minorities are not taken into consideration in Gujarat".
Rahul then counter-questioned the student and asked her, "Which state, according to you, is most vulnerable to terrorist attacks?"
Students gave various answers to the query. Some said it would be Assam, while others opined, "Kashmir." Rahul then asked, "Why can Gujarat not be attacked?"
Then, answering his own question, he went on to explain, "If your brother is killed unnecessarily, you will definitely think of taking revenge from the murderers. So, minorities in Gujarat definitely stand a chance to turn into terrorists."
Earlier, Rahul also showed his humorous side. "Don't mistake me for a typical minister who wears a khadi kurta and pyjama," he told the audience. In a more serious vein, he said that he wants to bring about massive changes to make the system accessible and open to all.
When a student from GLS College asked him why he entered politics, his answer was that to begin with, he was unhappy with the injustice being meted out to fellow Indians.
Secondly, both his grandmother (Indira) and father (Rajiv) were assassinated. "I have paid a huge price … My father is my role model, who wanted to change the system. He had to pay a huge price for this," he stated.
The Gandhi scion was scheduled to have a meeting with students at the Thakorebhai Desai Hall at 9.30 am. Students and mediapersons reached the venue well before time. But Rahul himself came at 10.45 - apparently because his flight was delayed due to the fog.
Friday (Nov 26) was the very day on which terrorists had struck in Mumbai two years back, and hence, the venue had tight security in place.
There were several girls in the audience who said that they were there only to see Rahul! It was quite evident that the man does commend a decent fan following.
On his part, Rahul reciprocated by reserving the first few rows of the hall for the female audience.
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