Swachh Bharat, Make in India working: Mount Carmel students to Rahul Gandhi

BENGALURU: Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi used the platform of Bengaluru’s most prestigious women’s college to come up with a new version of his suitboot-ki-sarkar jibe. He told a packed audience on Thursday, in response to a question from a student, "It is not suit-boot-ki-sarkar, it is 5 or 6 suits-boots-ki-sarkar."

The combative and political approach, however, failed to impress students when he spoke of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pet projects, Swachh Bharat and Make in India. Students who responded with cheers and whistles to everything he said, shouted "yes" when he asked, "is Swachh Bharat working?"

Gandhi, who started off his speech by telling the young women that he had consulted Biocon chief Kiran Mazumdar Shaw before facing them, said: "Even though the BJP has come to power, I don’t see a strategy. I don’t see a clear direction. I see a lot of talk. I hear talk about clean your country. I mean, are we serious? Clean your country is a strategic national government programme. Well, it's not working, is it?"

The packed auditorium responded: "Yes!" A visibly uncomfortable Gandhi said: "You see it working? Okay. I don’t see Swachh Bharat working." He moved on to Make in India. "Do you think Make in India is working?" he asked. Again, the crowd went: "Yes!"

Speaking to reporters, Gandhi later said: "Actually, it wasn’t clear. On Swachh Bharat, half the room said it worked, half said it didn’t. On Make in India, many said it hasn’t worked, while some said it has."

Tanya Chhabria, a final year communications student told ET: "I think there was a mixed response from the crowd. The first time he asked that, a few people just jumped up and gave an impulsive answer. But, it went on for about two minutes after which actually gave people time to take in the question and then respond, which is when he got a 50:50 response." She also said: "I did expect much more from today’s session. He wasn’t really talking about what the Congress was doing. He was talking about what the BJP was doing. "

Another student, Joanne Mathew Joseph, in final year BA, said: "I don’t see any other political leader stressing on women empowerment as much as he does. But, I don’t see him taking on a bigger role in national politics. "

Gandhi’s interaction with students at Mount Carmel College marked the start of a series of interactions he will have with students from various colleges and universities in the country.