Rahul Gandhi talks with an elderly village woman at a village in Amethi constituency on Monday. — Reuters
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Amethi, March 29
Rubbishing the Opposition claim that he was not Indian to the core Rahul Gandhi said he learnt being an Indian from his mother Sonia Gandhi and he had joined politics to help India and his motherland.
“I am an Indian because of my father and mother. I learnt to be an Indian from my mother … she is an Indian,” Rahul told The Tribune in Amethi, from where he is contesting the Lok Sabha elections.
The issue of foreign issue was unwanted and raised by the BJP because they did not have any other issue, he said during his first visit to Amethi constituency after he was declared candidate.
Thousands of Congress party workers fanned out across the constituency, decorating streets for Gandhi’s visit.
“We feel as if Rajiv Gandhi is back among the people of Amethi. We are emotionally overwhelmed by the significance of the occasion,” said Ashok Tripathi, a senior Congress official in Amethi.
“We have not spread the word around too much about his visit as we fear that all the streets will get choked by the crowd turnout.
He will do a whistlestop tour by road of all the villages and talk to people along the way,” said Tripathi.
Rahul (33), a financial consultant, bears a striking resemblance to his slain father who in 1991 was killed by a female suicide bomber.
Congress workers say Rahul’s decision to contest the elections has revived memories of how Rajiv would freely mingle with locals.
“Once a poor farmer from here, who was deeply upset because his two mango trees had been cut, poured his heart out to Rajiv after the police refused to register a complaint,” said Tripathi.
“Despite being a prime minister, he gave him a patient hearing and then ordered immediate compensation. Can anyone from here forget such love? Rahul’s visit has stirred hopes that we will see those days again.”
During his tenure as premier, Rajiv Gandhi rewarded the loyalty of the people of Amethi liberally with schools, colleges, hospitals and factories.
Sonia Gandhi has also nurtured the constituency carefully and pays a visit every three months, according to the Congress workers.
Rahul did not disappoint them. He went around the villages to have interaction with them.
