Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday took the Visvabharati by storm. Mr Gandhi who embarked on a three-day whirlwind tour of the state, received a rousing welcome by the students. Inclement weather failed to dampened the enthusiasm of the students and staff of the university who were all eager to catch a close glimpse of the “handsome leader”. Ignoring the advice of the SPG personnel, Mr Gandhi some times went too close to the cheering crowd, shaking hands, giving autographs and patting arms.
In the afternoon, Mr Gandhi received even a more tumultuous welcome when he visited Garden Reach, on the southern fringes of Kolkata.
Thousands of men lined up the road while women and children watched his motorcade from the roofs of their houses. Overwhelmed by the public adulation, Mr Gandhi did something unthinkable: he got off his vehicle and sat on its roof with his legs dangling awkwardly on the windshield causing anxious moments for the SPG.
Mr Gandhi arrived at Kolkata airport by a commercial flight at around 8.30 am. He was scheduled to board a helicopter to reach Santiniketan.
However, due to heavy rains, the helicopter could not take off and instead he had to fly to Panagarh in a small aircraft from where he took a helicopter to Bolpur. From the helipad, he drove to the Visvabharati. Even near the helipad, many young men and women had assembled to see him.
According to the age-old tradition of Visvabharati, the vice-chancellor greeted Mr Gandhi by offering him a uttariya.
Mr Gandhi inaugurated an exhibition on “Three Chancellors — Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi.” Nehru-Gandhi family’s association with Santiniketan goes back to three generations.