State Cong celebrates Rahul Gandhi's birthday on sombre note

Unlike last year, where the then Pradesh Congress Committee D Srinivas had cut a cake and party leaders joined in the chorus to sing a ‘Happy Birthday’ to party general secretary Rahul Gandhi on his birthday, the celebrations this year were slightly sombre and more purposeful.

Last year’s celebrations indeed resembled a birthday party with the cake being relished by the gathering and the otherwise astute leaders singing the birthday song in chorus.

However, this year, Deputy Chief Minister Damodar Rajanarasimha did the honours of presiding over the function where he exhorted the party leaders to make Mr Gandhi’s “services to the nation as their own goal in life and follow his footsteps.”

Mr Rajanarasimha told the gathering that they should emulate Mr Gandhi and serve the nation without aspiring for any posts. “All of us, the youth in particular, must follow the footsteps of Mr Rahul Gandhi,” the Deputy Chief Minister said.

He added that the “future Prime Minister is an example of selfless service and is striving to lift the farmers and the downtrodden without aspiring for power.”

Rajya Sabha Member and senior Congress leader V Hanumantha Rao appealed to state government to take back the lands allotted to software companies which have not established their units in the state. “We are taking inspiration from Mr Rahul Gandhi and thus fighting for the dispossessed families,” Mr Hanumantha Rao said.

The Congress leaders distributed bicycles to students, sprinklers to farmers and sarees to poor women on the occasion of the young leader’s birthday.

Among those who participated in the celebrations were Minister Danam Nagender and MP Anjan Kumar Yadav and other leaders.