Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi had a date with Jawaharlal Nehru University here on Tuesday night with students engaging him in a free-wheeling interaction on issues ranging from corruption to foreign policy to the Right to Education Act.
Dressed in a white shirt and black trousers -- a change from his trademark white kurta-pyjamas -- Mr. Gandhi had a quick dinner at the mess of the Jhelum Hostel on the campus before arriving at the Kendriya Vidyalaya grounds around 10 p.m.
He shook hands with several students and signed autographs for some of them who gathered around the barricades to take a closer look at the young Member of Parliament who was accompanied by colleague Meenakshi Natarajan and office-bearers of the Congress-backed National Students’ Union of India (NSUI).
The moment he arrived at the dais to speak, some students showed black flags to Mr. Gandhi and shouted slogans against the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
However, Mr. Gandhi allowed one of those students to ask the first question of the session that lasted well over an hour, stating, “Let us first give voice to the opposition”, drawing applause from a section of the audience.
Asked why only 3 per cent of the students in the country managed to reach the universities, the Congress MP maintained that the Government was reaching the poor and also spoke up for expansion of the university system.
Critical of the Left parties’ “philosophy”, he said: “The idea of the Left has been tested and failed. What you are proposing is distribution without growth. The idea that you can have distribution without growth is a non-starter, while we have generated policies that are developing growth.”
On democratising the functioning of systems within the NSUI and his foray into politics, Mr. Gandhi admitted that a hierarchical system exists in the country.
“I am a part of the hierarchical system. You have not seen my capability. The situation before me is either I change the system, propagate it, or go back home. I have decided to change the system,” he said.
Speaking in a mix of Hindi and English, the Gandhi scion’s answers divided the thousand-plus audience gathered at the venue – with some jeering him, while some others applauding.
At one point, he even admitted that JNU students were asking him “difficult questions”, but said he was ready to answer them all.
He also spoke about the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme and stated that the Government must transfer as much money to the poor as possible.
On tackling corruption, he said the Right to Information Act, the Universal ID Authority of India (headed by Nandan Nilekani) and political mobilisation were three tools to bring more transparency into the system.
On comparisons with China, he said: “We have to focus internally and not worry too much about other countries. We have certain issues with China but there is a lot of room for working together.”
Totally at ease among the students, he even came off the dais for a few minutes standing right in front of the students as he addressed the audience. He even asked his security officials to get aside when the students complained that they were blocking the view.
He even called one student on stage and shook hands with him when told that he wished to work for the Government instead of the private sector.
“Rahul Gandhi behaved like a typical politician. He was evasive and did not answer any question properly. In fact, he kept asking us questions. When I drew his attention to an important clause in the Right to Education Act, he said he was not aware of it!” lamenetd Sucheta De, a student.
However, others found him “decent” and felt it was a pity the audience “did not listen to him and allow him to complete his answers”.
