High-profile visit makes it a big day for Nadwa students
LUCKNOW: It was a big day for the students of the city’s most prominent Islamic seminary Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama as Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi visited the institution here on Friday.
Unlike other days, when students generally stay indoors or are in their classrooms, the pupils gathered around the ‘mehmaan khana’, where the Congress vice-president was supposed to meet the institute’s principal.
It was around 3.45pm that Rahul Gandhi’s minibus reached the premises where the students extended a warm welcome to him and shouted slogans of ‘Rahul Bhai,’ ‘Rahul Bhai’.
A few students stood atop the gallery and others were perched on vehicles to catch a glimpse of the Amethi MP who stayed on the Nadwa campus for some 10 minutes and then resumed his road show which is part of the Deoria to Delhi kisan yatra.
“Indeed, it’s a big day for us as ‘Rahul Bhai’ is visiting our institute for the first time,” said Mohammed Moazzum, general secretary of the students’ union at Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama. Moazzum was tasked with ensuring discipline during the high-profile visit.
Moazzum told HT the students indeed had great expectations from Rahul Gandhi. The student leader said the students’ vote would go to a party with a secular ideology and the one that says ‘no’ to caste discrimination.
“And needless to mention reservation for Muslims,” said Mohammed Shahdab, vice president of the students union, who was standing beside Moazzum.
Shahdab, while lauding the development works carried out by the Samajwadi Party (SP) government, said many of the SP’s poll promises to Muslims in 2012 were yet to be fulfilled.
“We are yet to get 18% reservation as we were promised when the SP government came to power,” Shahdab said.
Later, Rahul Gandhi visited the city’s oldest market— Nakkhas. It turned out to be the concluding point for the day-long road show.
The entire market, along with the connecting Victoria Street, was painted in the tricolour as the road was decorated with Congress party flags.
“It’s our small attempt to welcome our hero,” said Bilal Arshad, a Congress supporter.
Traders of the Old City also set up kiosks along the roadside to welcome Rahul Gandhi’s convoy.
“It’s a big day for us to see Rahulji at our market. I wish I could see Akhilesh ji and Rahulji together to form a government,” Arif Zaidi, president of the Victoria Street Vyapar Mandal, told HT.
The traders said they had many expectations from Gandhi and expressed their hope that his party would curb the excessive taxes that was “crushing the small traders”.