Life is full of surprises. Ten days ago I received a message asking if I would be keen to meet the newly appointed Congress President Rahul Gandhi, as part of an interaction with a select group of political enthusiasts and social media influencers.
Well, it’s not everyday that one gets a chance to interact with the leader of the principal Opposition party, so without batting an eyelid I confirmed my participation. The meeting happened earlier this week and while I am not at liberty to share the contents of the discussion, it surely gave quite a few of us insights into Rahul Gandhi's thought process and style of functioning.
The meeting was scheduled to begin at 4:30 pm and Rahul did not make us wait. Without wasting any time on introductions, speeches etc we were asked to "shoot" and thus kick-started an interesting 90-minute conversation. Everyone had a view on the state of affairs of our country and Rahul gave each one of us a patient hearing.
Quite a few of those present, expressed their critical views on the BJP’s ideological parent Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and its work. After listening to them for a while, I got up and said, "I have a different take on the RSS. " And before I gave my take, I first told Rahul that "I have never voted for the Congress in any election so far.... "
I also told him straight that I am a Vajpayee fan, that I have RSS friends and I continue to donate to some of the good social work that the RSS does.
To my surprise, Rahul did not look at me with derisiveness or contempt but smiled at me. That gave me the confidence to share my frank views on the RSS with Rahul and those present in the room.
Several contemporary issues were discussed. Most of us in the 20-30-odd group got to slip in their take and almost all of us got a response from Rahul. It wasn't a Q&A but more like a boardroom discussion, with Rahul constantly interjecting with his opinion and then encouraging a back and forth. At times he threw a counter question at us. I found him attentive, sharp and focused. Anyone who aspires to be a national leader needs to have a 'worldview'. Rahul clearly had one and he took us through it in the 90 minutes we spent with him.
After an hour or so, when an issue on which I had expressed an opinion earlier in the meeting once again came up for discussion, Rahul turned to me and asked for my take. To me this goes to show how he might take decisions as a leader. Something else that took me by surprise – quite a few of us addressed him by his first name ' Rahul' and he absolutely did not seem to mind.
Finally, something very minor and which might have escaped the attention of most, was a moment right at the beginning of the meeting. In my earlier avatar as a TV journalist, I have interviewed many CEOs, CFOs and a few of them would not show the basic courtesy of offering the journalist or their guests even a glass of water. Therefore it felt good when the moment he entered the room, Rahul asked us, "Can I get you all a cup of tea?"
The meeting ended with Rahul smiling and posing for individual photographs with us. Based on what I observed in those 90 minutes, this is how I would describe Rahul – refreshingly candid, engaging, spontaneous and courteous. Before being a great leader, one should first be a nice human being. Rahul seemed to be one. A regular guy with whom you would want to hang out over a drink ( although I am a teetotaller)! The media paints caricatures of politicians as it has about Rahul as well. I found him to be a very different person from that caricature.
(Arun Giri is a a chartered accountant and a commerce graduate. He has around seven years of journalistic experience as a broadcast journalist with leading business news channels. This is a personal blog and the views expressed above are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for them.)
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