New Delhi: Rahul Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and former Congress chief, demonstrated his commitment as a 24x7 politician through a series of interactions on a busy day on July 26. According to party insiders, his day started early as he left his mother Sonia Gandhi’s residence at 10 Janpath around 8 am. He travelled to Sultanpur, Uttar Pradesh, to attend a court hearing regarding a defamation case stemming from his alleged remarks against Amit Shah, the then BJP president and current Union Home Minister.
After Rahul told the MLA/MP court that he was not guilty and was being framed in the case, the next date for hearing has been fixed as August 12. Rahul, who was cheered by thousands of party workers, who had gathered outside the Sultanpur court, frequently stopped his car along the way back to Lucknow to meet the party workers, who wanted to congratulate him over his recent Lok Sabha win.
Rae Bareli, which Rahul represents in the Lok Sabha, is not far from Sultanpur. On his way back, Rahul, who calls himself the people’s LoP, had interactions with groups of students who were concerned over the NEET-UG paper leaks, farmers who shared their woes and loco-pilots, who discussed their problems with the leader.
The most interesting stop was at the shop of cobbler Chait Ram where Rahul spent around half an hour and tried his hands at repairing a broken sandal, a task usually associated with persons belonging to the lowest strata of society. Back home from his UP trip, Rahul went out to check out a bungalow that he had been offered by the Lok Sabha Housing Committee and later had an interaction with the Ambassador of Vietnam Nguyen Thanh Hai.
According to Saharanpur Lok Sabha MP Imran Masood, Rahul Gandhi’s politics had always been pro-people, especially the poor. “Rahul Gandhi is a very different kind of politician. He says what he means and does what he says. He has always been pro-poor and respects people’s skills. While people were surprised to see the country’s Leader of Opposition pictures repairing a sandal at a cobbler's shop on July 26, he has always been like this. During the 2017 poll campaign, he had sought a meeting with workers in the wood-carving industry. He spent some time with the workers and assured them help in getting fair remuneration,” Masood told ETV.
“The Central government has announced a scheme to promote skill development, but they hardly do anything for them. The LoP has been interacting with people with diverse skills like farmers, mechanics, carpenters and construction workers in the past to learn from them. It shows his commitment to work for their uplift,” he said.
According to AICC functionary CD Meyappan, Rahul Gandhi was a very grounded leader and was comfortable dealing with both the commoners as well as with foreign diplomats. “He has been reading a lot and understands nuances of both domestic as well as international politics. He has a grasp of policy issues both in India and globally. During interactions abroad he expresses himself freely,” Meyappan told ETV Bharat.
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