Rahul stumped as students give thumbs up to PM’s plans

PTI &TNS

Bengaluru/New Delhi, Nov25

Rahul Gandhi today faced some embarrassing moments when a large section of his student audience at a women’s college responded in resonating ‘yes’ to his poser whether they thought Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ambitious “Swachh Bharat” and “Make In India” campaigns were working.

During an interaction with students of Mount Carmel College, the Congress vice-president took an instant poll asking the young audience about the twin flagship programmes while slamming the Modi government. He asked the students whether the “Swachh Bharat Abhiyan” was working, to which most replied in a resounding “yes”.

It didn’t end here as the Congress MP again asked the students if they thought the “Make in India” programme was really working and the students again gave the same reply, making the leader apparently uncomfortable.

Gandhi hastened to tell the audience that he differed with them. “You might see it I don’t,” said Gandhi adding that “Anyway, I don’t clearly see a vision that the BJP is projecting”. The interaction was the first in the series of Gandhi’s outreach to the students across the campuses in the country.

Rahul later talking to reporters said the nature of the students’ response to his questions was not clear.

“Actually, it was not clear. On “Swachh Bharat”, half the room said nothing had happened and some said something had happened. On “Make in India”, I think more people said not much had happened, some said things have happened.”

The kind of response by the students to Rahul’s poser led BJP to say his “disconnect” with the ground was “exposed” and shown through the mirror by the youths of the country.

BJP spokesperson Sidharth Nath Singh said the interaction was an “eye-opener” for the Congress and Rahul Gandhi on what the youth in the country want. “I hope the Congress will learn from today’s interaction. Therefore, it will support the government’s reforms, particularly the GST, and allow Parliament to function,” he said.

Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala, however, said Gandhi answered questions unlike Prime Minister Modi and this is the way for the country’s leader to interact.

“This is the way, the leader of the country should interact with the young and the countrymen everywhere — sometimes disagreeing with them, sometimes agreeing with them and answering their basic inquisitiveness on how India should look in five years, 10 years and 20 years. Rahul ji has answered, what no other political leader has done,” he said.

Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad also dismissed suggestions that students snubbed Rahul and claimed that on the contrary, they replied in negative thrice when asked about the efficacy of Centre's plans.