Rahul Gandhi was not snubbed: Bengaluru girl's Facebook post goes viral - The Times of India
A student from Bengaluru's prestigious Mount Carmel College went against the current social media tide, '#RahulStumped' and said Rahul Gandhi was not snubbed at all.
Just a day after the interactive session between RaGa and Mount Carmel College students dragged much attention nation wide, Elixir Nahar, a student from the same college, wrote an open letter to those who said Rahul Gandhi's statement backfired as he criticised Modi.
'He (Rahul Gandhi) was humourous, and he struck a chord with the audience right from the start,' Nahar wrote. She also said that the questions on Swachh Bharat and Make in India received a mixed reaction and only a part of which was reported.
In her 1,437-word long Facebook post titled "An Open Letter to ?#?RahulStumped Enthusiasts", she complained that the whole incident was 'misconstrued and exaggerated'. She ended her letter saying RaGa's speech was 'inspiring' and 'spirited'.
Elixir Nahar's open letter:
Those 'No Ragging' posters you vaguely see around educational institutions could be put to good use this week. They must all be collected and sent to Indian media houses country-wide! It has arisen to be the need of the hour, considering the events of November 25th, 2015 - the day we'd fondly remember as 'Mr. Rahul Gandhi's (memorable?) visit to Mount Carmel College'. If I had a few hashtags to throw around, they would be on the lines of ?#?Misconstrued and ?#?Exaggerated, and this is from someone on the inside.
Didn't get your invitation? Don't worry, it wasn't lost in the mail or anything. It was lodged with all the other invites to media houses in P.O box: Sorry You're Not Invited.
As we students made our way past the lurking media and into our college campus, the fact of the matter was - this is about us, not them. It was going to be a friendly interaction between him and us, discussing matters that concern the youth and the country. We were definitely eager to see how he had tailored his interactive speech to suit our audience of young women.
He opened with why he chose our college in particular. He spoke about societal norms: What is 'pretty', what is 'skinny', how irrelevant these terms are to him, and why women are so important in his life - his grandmother, mother, and sister. He was humourous, and he struck a chord with the audience right from the start, before jumping into the nitty gritty.
What touched most of the audience was Mr. Gandhi's emphasis on 'starting a conversation' about all the issues. He informed us about how his government was being shunned out of Parliament, to the extent of their mic being turned off while they are speaking, despite them being the Opposition and still having a foothold in there. He brought us up to speed on how the central government has not once been open to starting a conversation with them, about anything under the sun that concerns the citizens. He drew up examples from the past, when former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was in office, and how he would pick up the phone and directly call the Opposition just to have a conversation. Let me add that these facets arising on the eve of the Winter Session in Parliament could be more than a mere coincidence.
He emphasised the need for a collective ruling body, and that change cannot be brought about by just one man, including himself. He said the body should be made up of people like us and that we should be allowed easier access into politics, including Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. These were all facets that resonated well with his young audience. Questions were raised about the GST Bill, the 'Suit-Boot Sarkar' the situation in the North East, tolerance in India and opportunities for differently-abled citizens. He was understanding and answered seamlessly.
The best part was that he recognised corruption in higher levels of the Youth Congress. He admitted to things going wrong in Congress which led to their loss in 2014. He spoke about rejuvenating the party and giving it a new face and image. It