Desaraju Surya
Vijayawada: I was standing by the road.
Rahul Gandhi suddenly stopped his Tata Safari in front of me and got down.
I tried to rush towards him saying, "Mr Rahul", to pose a question.
"I didn't stop for you. I stopped for him," he replied rather angrily, pointing to a dwarf person, even as TV cameramen and photographers rushed and tried to mob Rahul.
It took some time for me to understand that Rahul was actually trying to keep the paparazzi at bay and not me. He didn’t like the media glare.
This happened in Vijayawada yesterday, where I went to cover Rahul’s visit to the city for an interaction with students of Loyola and some other colleges.
As he started his drive back to the airport after taking part in an interaction session with students at the Loyola College here, Rahul suddenly stopped his Tata Safari on the road outside the college auditorium and stepped out of the vehicle.
It was a totally unexpected halt as everyone, except the select audience, was kept completely out of bounds of Rahul’s programme. As anxious media photographers and television cameramen saw Rahul stepping out of the vehicle, they tried to seize the opportunity and rushed to mob him.
“I have not stopped for you. I have stopped for him,” Rahul told the journalists in a rather angry tone, as he pointed to a dwarf standing by the road.
Rahul tried to walk up to the dwarf person but failed because of the melee caused by the cameramen.
Even as the security personnel accompanying him tried to control the scene, Rahul silently got back into his Tata Safari. National Students Union of India president I B Eden, who too got down of the vehicle with Rahul, suffered a minor bruise on his forehead as a camera mike hit him.
Rahul noticed this and enquired about it with Eden. After Eden got into the car, the convoy started moving.
But then, not to leave the admiring dwarf disappointed, Rahul asked his security personnel to collect the paper that the former was holding. It was done accordingly.
Later, the dwarf identified himself as A Nagaraju of Rompicharla in neighbouring Guntur district.
“I had met Rahul on a previous occasion in Hyderabad and explained my plight. I sought some help from him. He promised to take care,” Nagaraju recalled.
What did he ask for? “Given my physical condition, none is coming forward to marry me. Even if someone is ready for marriage, they are seeking money from me. So, I asked Rahul for Rs one lakh,” Nagaraju said.
“Also, I am unable to do any work because of my condition and hence want financial help. But the over-active media spoiled my chance to interact with Rahul,” he cursed.
Vijayawada: I was standing by the road.
Rahul Gandhi suddenly stopped his Tata Safari in front of me and got down.
I tried to rush towards him saying, "Mr Rahul", to pose a question.
"I didn't stop for you. I stopped for him," he replied rather angrily, pointing to a dwarf person, even as TV cameramen and photographers rushed and tried to mob Rahul.
It took some time for me to understand that Rahul was actually trying to keep the paparazzi at bay and not me. He didn’t like the media glare.
This happened in Vijayawada yesterday, where I went to cover Rahul’s visit to the city for an interaction with students of Loyola and some other colleges.
As he started his drive back to the airport after taking part in an interaction session with students at the Loyola College here, Rahul suddenly stopped his Tata Safari on the road outside the college auditorium and stepped out of the vehicle.
It was a totally unexpected halt as everyone, except the select audience, was kept completely out of bounds of Rahul’s programme. As anxious media photographers and television cameramen saw Rahul stepping out of the vehicle, they tried to seize the opportunity and rushed to mob him.
“I have not stopped for you. I have stopped for him,” Rahul told the journalists in a rather angry tone, as he pointed to a dwarf standing by the road.
Rahul tried to walk up to the dwarf person but failed because of the melee caused by the cameramen.
Even as the security personnel accompanying him tried to control the scene, Rahul silently got back into his Tata Safari. National Students Union of India president I B Eden, who too got down of the vehicle with Rahul, suffered a minor bruise on his forehead as a camera mike hit him.
Rahul noticed this and enquired about it with Eden. After Eden got into the car, the convoy started moving.
But then, not to leave the admiring dwarf disappointed, Rahul asked his security personnel to collect the paper that the former was holding. It was done accordingly.
Later, the dwarf identified himself as A Nagaraju of Rompicharla in neighbouring Guntur district.
“I had met Rahul on a previous occasion in Hyderabad and explained my plight. I sought some help from him. He promised to take care,” Nagaraju recalled.
What did he ask for? “Given my physical condition, none is coming forward to marry me. Even if someone is ready for marriage, they are seeking money from me. So, I asked Rahul for Rs one lakh,” Nagaraju said.
“Also, I am unable to do any work because of my condition and hence want financial help. But the over-active media spoiled my chance to interact with Rahul,” he cursed.
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