By IANS,
Ludhiana : Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi Tuesday left Ludhiana as he had come — by train, joining top leaders of the party enforcing austerity measures amid a drought.
Gandhi boarded the Swarn Shatabdi Express train for Delhi in an air-conditioned Chair Car instead of the plush Executive Class, a day after his mother and Congress president Sonia Gandhi flew economy class to Mumbai.
The 38-year-old Gandhi travelled to Ludhiana in coach C-3 amid tight security. But for the security surrounding him, he looked like any other passenger from the time he left New Delhi railway station at 6 a.m.
Gandhi was accompanied by Special Protection Group personnel who occupied all the seats around his seat.
Other passengers on the coach were amused and surprised to see the high profile politician travelling with them.
“He took vegetarian breakfast,” a waiter on train later said.
Before the austerity measures came into place, Gandhi would have flown in a private helicopter as there is no direct flight between New Delhi and Ludhiana.
The MP earlier took part in the first-of-its-kind training programme for the Punjab Youth Congress on how to highlight the work of the Congress-led government like the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS), Right to Information (RTI) Act and the anti-corruption drive.
Clad in white kurta-pyjama, he addressed Youth Congress leaders at the Whistling Wuds resort on Ferozepur road on the outskirts of this city.
The day-long training saw Gandhi taking classes and attending them too.
A Bangalore-based consultancy was engaged by the Youth Congress to train its leaders to make people aware of the steps taken by the Manmohan Singh government.
Several ministers are also following austerity measures like travelling economy class and suspending official conferences at five-star hotels.