Prime Minister taught me what not to do, says Rahul Gandhi

New Delhi: Congress chief Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi taught him “what not to do” and he also “learnt a lot” from the massive defeat in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

Mr Gandhi also said the Prime Minister got a massive mandate but refused to listen to “heartbeat of the country”. 

Addressing a press conference here after the Congress’ resurgence in the Hindi heartland states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhatti-sgarh, he said, “I was speaking to my mother on Monday and I was telling her that the absolute best thing for me was the 2014 election. I’ve learnt a lot from that election.” 

The most important thing that he learnt from the 2014 polls was humility, said the 48-year-old Congress chief. 

“This is a great country and the most important thing in this country is what the people feel,” he said. As a politician one has to listen to what the people feel and also connect with what they feel,” Mr Gandhi said. 

“Frankly, Mr Narendra Modi taught me the lesson — what not to do,” Mr Gandhi said. 

He said, “Five years ago, he (Modi) was handed a massive opportunity to transform this country. The sad thing is that he refused to listen to the heartbeat of the country.” 

“Mr Modi refused to hear what the youngsters and farmers were saying,” he alleged. 

“Certain amount of arrogance came in. I think that is fatal for a politician. That is something I learnt from how he has acted. For me the best teachers are the people of this country,” Mr Gandhi asserted, adding that he has had a “nice journey” since 2014. 

“(Have taken) Little bit of a beating also, but it is a good thing, not a bad thing,” he quipped.