Rahul Gandhi interacts with PU students

A 50-minute interaction with Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi Tuesday evening left some students of the Panjab University (PU) here spellbound and motivated to take up public service, while a few just came to get a glimpse of the youth leader.

Nearly 350 students waited patiently for over two and a half hours in PU's gymnasium hall to avail the chance to talk to Gandhi and ask him a few questions.

Gandhi, who was dressed in a formal shirt and trousers, said: "I am here because I want to strengthen the NSUI (National Students Union of India) wing so that all students and youngsters of our country get chance to serve through politics. Here everyone should have fair and equal chance for participation."

He took around ten questions from the students, chiefly relating to Maoism, the reservation policy and central status for the PU.

About the long pending issue of central status for the PU, Gandhi said: "I am not well aware about this issue but I will certainly talk to (Human Resource Development Minister) Kapil Sibal about this issue. You people can also come to New Delhi any time to discuss this matter."

There was a mixed reaction among students who attended this session with Gandhi.

"It was one of the rarest chances to interact with Rahul Gandhi who will be our future prime minister. He is an immaculate orator and his personality oozes out a different confidence and energy that attracts every youngster towards him," Harmanjit Singh, a research scholar at at PU, told IANS.

"After listening to him, I have decided to join politics full-time career once I am out of this university," he added.

Shreya Bhasin, a law student, said: "I am not at all interested in politics and I am not even aware about all names of our ministers and their portfolios. I had come here with my friends to just have a glimpse of Rahul Gandhi and we found him really cute and handsome."

"The session was not at all interactive as only a handful of students got chance to ask questions. Moreover, from the body language of Rahul Gandhi, it seemed that he was also not taking much interest in answering the questions," said Manish Sehgal, another student of the PU.

The Congress leader earlier Tuesday had a similar interaction with students of the Himachal Pradesh University in Shimla.

Last updated on Oct 13^th, 2009 at 21:48 pm IST--IANS