Is Rahul Gandhi's gesture towards women appropriate?

Initially the conversation began with fitness chat as he expressed a wish to run in Marathon. Rahul Gandhi is very fitness conscious. Enjoying the fitness routine and keeping up with it these days is very crucial, he said along with suggesting some books about walking fitness and marathon. As soon as he realized that I am trying to memorize the book names, Rahul Gandhi called his associate and within 3 minutes, the mentioned e-book was in my inbox. I was struggling a bit to keep up to his pace during the march. I wanted to interact with him but my hands were constantly coming in contact with his hands due to the crowded nature of the rally. As soon as he noticed it, he jovially said its fine.

As the discussion about fitness came to an end, I reminded him of the previous interview. Each and every female journalist was invited by Rahul Gandhi for coverage of the Bharat Jodo Yatra. "We have met before", he said with a smiley face quoting our previous encounter. I will never forget the look on Rahul Gandhi's face when I asked him for his interview if he became the Prime Minister. With both hands in the pocket and a mischievous smile on the face, he expressed a lot without uttering a single word. Rahul Gandhi made it clear that the primary objective of his march is not to become the Prime Minister. Rahul Gandhi shook my hands and that was the end of our short and compact interview.

During Bharat Jodo Yatra, Pictures of women surrounding Rahul Gandhi, hugging him, kissing him on forehead with affection and hands on their shoulder are going viral on social media along with both positive as well as negative caption. I got the opportunity to interact with Rahul Gandhi twice during the Bharat Jodo Yatra and I Have genuinely felt his modesty. I am not an admirer or supporter of any particular party or someone who seems eager to be clicked alongside politicians. Meeting and greeting politicians is an integral part of day to day life of a journalist. After meeting Rahul Gandhi in person, I realized the fact that his way of interaction is peculiar as compared to other leaders. Rahul Gandhi's gesture, way of conveying thoughts and even the innocence in his touch is unparallel. No other leader is capable of replicating Rahul Gandhi's all-over stature.

As mentioned earlier, I get to interact with politicians on daily basis but Rahul Gandhi is something different considering his assuring and transparent nature. He never makes fake promises, he doesn't talk too much, he only emphasizes on calmly listening to the people and concentrated on resolving their issues. Sometimes I feel it is unfair to humiliate a person to such extent with the help of social media. But Rahul Gandhi's genuine nature and his demeanour seems to be beating them all. Rahul Gandhi is being constantly trolled on social media platforms for holding hands of women and being over-friendly with them during Bharat Jodo Yatra. An unnecessary scenario is being negatively painted. Nowadays, women are well aware and are wise enough to segregate between different kind of touches.

Many people are commenting and analyzing Rahul Gandhi's political career post Bharat Jodo Yatra but no one can deny the fact that this could completely change the course of entire Indian politics. Meanwhile, one of my journalist friends recently toured the Rwanda Genocide Statue. The people of Rwanda are still struggling to overcome the unimaginable grief. They opine that the Rwanda genocide would not have occurred if Mahatma Gandhi had not been assassinated. The gravity of non-violence is eminent. But the current scenario in the country tells a different story. Hatred is being promoted, people are terrified and that is the reason why an ocean of people has come in support of Bharat Jodo Yatra and Rahul Gandhi. His sole intention is to conquer the world with humanity and love and we are fortunate enough to witness it. He is being constantly provoked, but he is grounded and devoted for well-being of the people of this nation. Being with him feel like being with family. It seems evident that Bharat Jodo Yatra is going to bring decisive change in the Indian politics.

Priyadarshini Hinge