New Delhi, Jan 22: Rahul Gandhi in his first speech as Congress vice president touched an emotional chord among many with references to his mother, party chief Sonia Gandhi, and his father and grandmother, and his frank critique of the party's functioning and of the ills of the "system", but many others wonder if there was any real substance in what he spoke.
The 1,200 strong gathering of Congress leaders and activists at the Birla Auditorium in Jaipur erupted in hurrahs and some leaders were seen wiping away tears after Rahul Gandhi's speech.
"I think his speech was not as a politician..., His references to how his mother cried etc. were meant to gain sympathy... But I did not find much substance in his speech," Gagan Sharma, a professional in his 30s, told IANS.
"The vision he has tried to show, that we have to bring change. Where was he when people were holding massive protests against corruption when Anna Hazare was there in New Delhi, and when there were tens of thousands protesting against the gang-rape?... He never once came out and addressed the people," Sharma noted.
