DHAKA: The black microbus carrying Rahul Gandhi pulled over on entering a village in Gazipur district on the northern tip of Dhaka. India’s ruling Congress Party stalwart got off, walked to a roadside teashop and asked for a cup of tea, puzzling the security men in his detail. He sipped the cup of tea, taking a fill of the greenery. The Indian Lok Sabha member and one of the general secretaries of the Congress party arrived in Dhaka on Friday on a five-day visit.
On the first day, he visited microcredit projects run by Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC), village organizational meetings of women, primary children’s education, mass library, pregnant and women health care program and adolescent center.
After hectic seven hours since morning, he had lunch at the BRAC “Center for Development Management Training,” in Gazipur.
Heavily secured, Rahul started by road from Mohakhali BRAC Inn Center at 7:30 a.m. and first went to BRAC regional office at Gazipur.
After staying there for some time, he started his day’s program.
Wearing a short-sleeved shirt, jeans and sneakers, he saw for himself the struggle of a few families to pull themselves out of poverty with BRAC microcredit in several villages in Gazipur.
In Targaon village, he joined the meeting of women recipients and spoke with them. He also visited the dwelling houses of two microcredit recipients — Farhana and Rejina. One of them had a tin house, the other a mud house.
Farhana told Rahul that once she too had a mud house and that she built the tin house on microcredit. When Rahul went to the house of Farhana and Rejina it was drizzling. Rahul himself held an umbrella over his head and exchanged greetings with them. Farhana and Rejina were ecstatic finding the member of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty of India in their vicinity.
Rahul then visited a pre-primary school where he was welcomed by young children with songs and dance. Rahul drew some children to him. Later, he also talked with their teachers. He also visited BRAC primary school at Raonat village.
He visited Rajendrapur High School Public Library, pregnant women’s health care program and activities of women’s rights and legal aid program run by BRAC adolescent center.
Rahul returned to Dhaka in the afternoon. BRAC chief Fazle Hasan Abed had an exclusive meeting with him in the evening. Rahul was provided the highest security during the visit with Special Security Force (SSF), Police, Rapid Action Battalion and intelligence agencies manning him. Indian Special Protection Group (SPG) is also in charge of his security.
Rahul, grandson of India’s late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, enjoys highest Z-plus security. His father Rajiv Gandhi and Indira were both assassinated.
During the whole program, he was accompanied by BRAC Executive Director Mahbub Hossain, Director Ahmed Nazmul Hossain, Director of Education Institution Iram Marium, senior Communications Manager Pushpita Alam and media manager Zia Hasan.
