Rahul Gandhi, leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, made an unexpected stop on Friday to meet a cobbler’s family in Sultanpur, Uttar Pradesh. The Congress leader conversed with cobbler Ram Chait, who described his “financially weak” situation and requested assistance. During the visit, Gandhi also learned how to mend shoes.
“Leader of opposition Rahul Gandhi stopped the car on the way and met a family of cobbler. We are continuously fighting for the rights of these hardworking people, raising their voice from the streets to the Parliament. Our aim is to make their present safe and their future prosperous,” Congress posted on X.
#WATCH | Congress MP & LoP Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi meets and interacts with a cobbler during his visit to UP's Sultanpur pic.twitter.com/gwEhvGuJ95
— ANI (@ANI) July 26, 2024
Ram Chait told ANI, “I told him I was financially weak and asked him for some help. I also showed him how I mend shoes.”
Rahul Gandhi appeared before the Sultanpur MP/MLA court in connection with a defamation case lodged against him for alleged objectionable remarks about Union Home Minister Amit Shah. On July 2, the court had summoned Gandhi to appear on July 26.
Rahul Gandhi’s counsel, Kashi Prasad Shukla, informed TOI that the court recorded Gandhi’s statement and scheduled the next hearing for August 12 for the examination of evidence. Shukla noted that Gandhi arrived promptly at 11 am and maintained his innocence, claiming the case was filed with malicious intent.
BJP functionary Vijay Mishra had filed a complaint against Gandhi in Sultanpur for remarks made during the 2018 Karnataka elections. Gandhi allegedly stated, “BJP claims to believe in honest and clean politics but has a party president who is an accused in a murder case.” At that time, Amit Shah was the BJP national president. Four years before Gandhi’s remarks, a special CBI court in Mumbai had discharged Shah in a 2005 fake encounter case when he was the Gujarat home minister.
