As the principal challenger to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Rahul Gandhi is on an intense and passionate campaign across the country. The Congress president’s energy matches his hectic schedule. After spending a day in Gujarat—attending prayers at Sabarmati Ashram, holding a meeting of the Congress Working Committee at Sardar Patel National Memorial, and addressing a mega rally, where he shared the dais with his mother, Sonia Gandhi, and sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra—Rahul flew south to Chennai on March 13.
After receiving an exuberant welcome from Congress workers in the city, he began his day with a long and lively interaction with thousands of students who gathered at the prestigious Stella Maris College. He then went to Nagercoil, on the southern tip of the country, to address an election rally.
The time spent flying from Chennai to Thiruvananthapuram on a ten-seat aircraft served as lunch break. Rahul had roti with chicken curry, biryani, salad and yoghurt. Also on board were former Union minister P. Chidambaram, Congress’s Tamil Nadu unit president K.S. Alagiri and Mukul Wasnik, the Congress general secretary in charge of Kerala.
Post lunch, Rahul gave THE WEEK his first exclusive interview after kickstarting his campaign for the Lok Sabha elections. He spoke to Chief Associate Editor and Director Riyad Mathew and Resident Editor Sachidananda Murthy on a wide range of issues. His talk, much like the white kurta-pyjama he was wearing, was both sharp and relaxed.
He spoke at length about his ideological battle with Modi, issues related to national security and defence purchases, the crises confronting farmers and the youth, Priyanka’s entry into politics and his startlingly different vision for India. Excerpts from the interview:
Q/The elections have been announced and you have travelled across the country. What is the mood of the people?
A/There is a crisis in the country. [There is] unemployment, and agriculture is in tremendous crisis. That is a distinct feeling I get when I travel around India. Both these issues are interrelated. The jobs question is directly related to agriculture, and agriculture is connected to the economic system. And the jobs issue is also related to how you bring people into the banking system. So that is one flavour that is there.
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