Rahul Gandhi breaks security cordon to meet 8-year old fan in Bangalore

Bangalore: Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday broke his security cover to meet his eight-year-old fan here.

Rahul stopped his convoy and got down from his car to meet Dushyant, a class four student who was waving an NSUI flag at the Congress Vice President as he was leaving Central College ground after an interaction with select students.

Speaking to reporters after his brief talk with Rahul, Dushyant said "....I had come to see Rahul Gandhi; ....he asked me how are you? I replied I'm fine, how are you?"

"Then I told him - you will become Prime Minister; ....he replied to me- you will also become Prime Minister," Dushyant added.

Visibly overjoyed, Dushayant's father said ".....I have been waiting with my son for three hours to catch a glimpse of Rahul, I was not let inside....Rahul who saw my son himself called us; ....I have blessed him that he will become Prime Minister."

Speaking to reporters after interacting with Rahul Gandhi, Mithun, a student from Christ University said "....the interaction was about education, skills, employment..... He (Rahul) had kept the interaction very general, rather wanted to know more from us. His major emphasis was on women empowerment."

Stating that there was clarity in his (Rahul) thoughts, another student said, "There was no specificity, it was general discussion."

"Rahul spoke about basics like education in India, how to improve it.....; most of the topics were given by students as he wanted us to talk....," said a group of students from Mount Carmel College.

Pointing out that students spoke to Rahul on topics like granting more money for R&D and quota issues, they said "....he wanted students to be part of the political system and bring about a change in it."

Next: Smartphone-type education system needed: Rahul

Smartphone-type education system needed: Rahul

Bangalore: "We need a smartphone type of education system – open and connected," Rahul Gandhi today said pitching for sweeping reforms in education sector as he spoke to students through a webcast from Bangalore University.

"The revolution that opened up the communication sector, took power out of the hands of 500 MPs and put it into the hands of people. This revolution decentralized the phone. We need to do the same for the education sector.

"We need a smartphone type of education system – open and connected," Gandhi said as students from Bangalore and other places shared their ideas on education in the Silicon Valley of India.

Party sources this is an isolated interaction and the exercise would be carried out in other cities as well.

Waving an old black telephone to the audience, Gandhi also illustrated how the telecom revolution led by late Rajiv Gandhi and Sam Pitroda opened up the system and brought the world at our finger tips.

"We have to transform the education system by making it open and connected and centred around the students," he said sharing his vision on education and nation-building at the campus and thousands others connected virtually from different locations across the country through video conferencing.

He added India’s education system was more certification-oriented rather than knowledge-oriented.

"The education system should develop your dream. We need to create an ecosystem that is student-centric and an ecosystem where the teachers are supported through extensive training," he said, according to a Congress release.

Talking about the importance of education he said it was the single most important system to change because it changes the mind. Gandhi also used the occassion to make a pitch for transforming the political system saying he wanted to see young faces, especially women, in assemblies and the Lok Sabha, noting 'only then can our politics change'.