On the second day of his three-day Gujarat visit, Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi touched base with M S University students despite being denied permission. He also paid tribute to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel at his birthplace in Anand and visited Amul dairy before moving to the tribal district of Dahod in the evening.

The students of MSU were taken aback by the visit of the Congress leader, who casually walked into the Science faculty and asked the way to the canteen.

Neha Vani, an MSU student, said, “I was surprised to see him walk up to me. He was dressed in white kurta-pyjama with chappals, and asked me the way to the canteen.”

At 11 am, Rahul interacted with students in the canteen, while mediapersons and even Congress workers waited outside.

Rahul shared lunch of Rajesh Kevat, a Geology student. “I never expected him to come to our campus. He picked up a chair and started sharing our lunch. He refused to eat canteen samosas,” Kevat said.

Vivek Pathak from the Statistics department said, “He asked me where I came from. I said Allahabad and the conversation started.” Among other topics discussed included reservation policies in education.

Later in Anand, Rahul paid homage to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel at his ancestral home in Karamsad town of Anand district. This is the same place from where his mother and Congress president Sonia Gandhi had started her campaign for the 2007 Gujarat Assembly elections.

Rahul also interacted with students in Anand and faced some tough questions. One of the students asked him the future of a student in politics if he/she does not belong to the Nehru-Gandhi family.

In response, Rahul said, “Generally, political parties do not help youth to make it to the top. We have started a system where members can choose their own representative.”