Rahul Gandhi went to JNU on Tuesday for a bout. He brought along the paraphernalia too: armed guards, Member of parliament Meenakshi Natarajan’s research and a truckload of tenacity.

“I have an observation to make; and you may not like it,” he said after half-an-hour of grilling. “Nobody has asked me questions that go beyond the present; fundamental questions about the long-term future of the country,” he said.

The topic was “Youth, politics and development”, but those who earned their security passes from NSUI leaders never cared. In a deviation from the vibrant post-dinner mess meetings of JNU, the NSUI decided to have this one on the Kendriya Vidyalaya grounds, which made it more of a political meeting than an “interaction”.

An excited NSUI leader later leaked to the press that Rahul had had “chole-paratha, puris, fruit cream and rice”.

Gandhi spent the first ten minutes doing the crowd routine: autographs, mobile cameras, tugs, handshakes and the odd fan who earnestly discussed politics with him for over three minutes. “I get this sinking feeling that he is going to stick to a prepared speech,” a new entrant into the world of students’ politics said just before the speeches began.

More drama was in store before Gandhi could utter a word (he chose to speak in English): black flags were out, and activists of the Progressive Students’ Union registered their protest.

“The debate in this campus is limited,” he said, after informing JNU it had the most intelligent students in the country. He said NSUI wanted to promote open debate; to become the “voice of JNU”. “I am not the solution to all your problems; you are the solution to your problems,” he said to a section in the crowd that cheered. In four odd minutes, the speech was over and the floor was open to questions.

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