New Delhi, Sep 25 (IANS) Congress MP Rahul Gandhi paid his first visit to the All India Congress Committee (AICC) headquarters here Tuesday, a day after being appointed party general secretary, and informally interacted with party functionaries.
Accompanied by his mother and Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Rahul “had an informal chat with other general secretaries and party functionaries present here”, said Janardhan Dwivedi, a party general secretary.
“This was an unannounced, unplanned visit. He just came here to informally meet party functionaries and to see his room,” Dwivedi said. They came at 4.30 p.m. and stayed for about half an hour.
Sonia Gandhi’s political secretary Ahmed Patel, who accompanied the duo from the next-door 10, Janpath, to 24, Akbar Road, indicated that Rahul Gandhi was likely to be allotted the room now occupied by Janardhan Dwivedi.
But nothing seems final. Although Dwivedi avoided saying whether Rahul Gandhi would displace him, Dwivedi’s name-plate was removed as soon as the Amethi MP came in, and was promptly re-fixed immediately after Rahul Gandhi left.
“After a while, we all moved from here to the committee room and had some tea and gulab jamuns. Rahul only had one gulab jamun,” said Dwivedi.
Incidentally, not many of the newly-appointed office-bearers were present at the party headquarters when the Congress president and Rahul Gandhi visited.
Dwivedi was present in his room to welcome Rahul Gandhi, and AICC treasurer Moti Lal Vora both welcomed him and then escorted him back out of 24, Akbar Road. Sensing the pressure from those collected on the roadside and party office to break the police cordon, Sonia and Rahul walked back through the 24, Akbar Road, lawns to their house, accompanied by their Special Protection Group (SPG) security officials.
India’s victory yesterday in the Twenty20 cricket cup was mostly the subject of Rahul Gandhi’s “chit-chat” with the party workers.
Ahmed Patel said, “Let him return and we could organise some functions to honour our cricketers”, referring to Sonia Gandhi’s impending visit to New York to address the UN General Assembly later this month. Rahul is to accompany her.
As soon as news broke out that Rahul Gandhi was visiting the aprty office, media persons started collecting there. But none was allowed inside the corridors till he left.
Most people were left wondering whether Rahul Gandhi would regularly visit the party office and interact with people and the media like any other leader, if he was likely to be mobbed like this.