Gujarati dailies find Rahul Gandhi’s light beard, simple black chappal, refusal to spin charkha impressive, praiseworthy

Ahmedabad, 4 October 2013

Presented here are translated paras from Ahmedabad based Gujarati newspapers(4 October) covering Rahul Gandhi’s visit(9 October) to city:

Gujarat Samachar

Politicians, actors, entrepreneurs or celebrities from other areas spin charkha at Mahatma Gandhi’s Sabarmati ashram to prove that they are Gandhian, but Congress’s young leader didn’t do a drama by just spinning a weheel to prove that he is Gandhi’s follower.

During the visit of Hriday kunj(Gandhi’s room in Sabarmati ashram) when Rahul was moving ahead after honoring Gandhiji’s portrait, someone present there advised him to spin charkha. Rahul politely joined hands and clearly refused to spin the wheel. He moved ahead to visit Gandhi museum. Some (party)men were heard saying that one doesn’t become Gandhian just by spinning charkha. Gandhi’s charkha is just an advertise of Gandhi’s ideals.

Divya Bhaskar

Confidence is overflowing in Rahul’s voice, expressions and body language. Rahul doesn’t speak in loud voice. He doesn’t contain theatrical performance. After day-long Congress meetings he came to meet senior editors and journalists wearing black chappal, white khadi kurta payjama and light beard. Rahul’s this simplicity touches everyone present in this informal session. Even during talk, Rahul is simple and transparent.

Sandesh

Whether he’s in Delhi or visiting other states, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi doesn’t organize any formal press conference, and he avoids direct interaction with print barons. But he broke the tradition and directly exchanged ideas through question-answer session organized by Gujarat media club. He frankly accepted the things, and didn’t try to avoid any question. He demonstrated a good example of transparency before media friends.