I am scared to lose Amethi: Rahul

NEW DELHI - Mentioning that 33 percent reservation for women may soon be implemented in parliament and the state legislatures, Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi Sunday noted in a lighter vein that he was “scared” that his Amethi Lok Sabha constituency may become part of the reserved category.

Delivering a speech at the 83rd Congress plenary at Burari, Gandhi pointed out that women were increasingly coming into politics. “In panchayats, women have 50 percent of seats, and soon they will have 33 percent in the Lok Sabha and state bodies,” he said.

“I am myself scared that I may lose Amethi (to reservation for women),” quipped Gandhi.

The Congress general secretary was the star attraction at the AICC meeting as Congress party workers cheered and clapped as he started to address them.

Many AICC members and party workers who had gone out of the tented venue for a while after Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s speech, returned to their seats to hear what the youth icon of India’s oldest party had to say.

As Rahul Gandhi walked to the dais and started to speak, a young AICC member said: “I wanted to see him and listen to his speech, my day is done.”