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Today I, with two senior friends, met The issue
I along with Mr. Indravir, PhD student, CSRD, JNU and Dr. Naveen Kr. Naveen met Rahul today morning. Dr. Naveen had requested an appointment with him and it was confirmed just two days ago. The Civil Services Examination conducted by the UPSC has many loopholes. Most recently the Natchiappan Committee and the Administrative Reforms Commission –II have underlined the urgent need for reforms in the examination system but the UPSC does not budge and the government does not appear very inclined to reform it.
Waiting outside 10 Janpath
We reached 10 Janpath at about 9 am [Akbar road] only to find about 100 people already there with more trickling in every moment. We had hoped that Rahul would give us at least 15 minutes of hearing but it was clear that it was a kind of interaction with the public and he would hardly have anytime for us! There were people of all kinds there – young and old. There was only one woman in the whole crowd and one physically challenged person. Most people appeared to belong from the middle class and most of them were wearing Pyjamas Kurtas or white clothes. Nalinikant Mohanty, a Congress activist from Orissa who had come to get some post in the Orissa Congress was also there. He told us that he was interviewed for about 5 hours in more than one round by Rahul and others in Orissa for a party post! At about 9:30 am, two people came with registers and called names. You had to leave your bags and mobile outside (we were not carrying the mobile anyway) but files and folders are allowed.
SPG Guards, Sitting arrangement, Fans, the place, Notices
After the roll call you go inside the premise. Special Protection Group (SPG) Guards wearing grey safari suit, their usual dress, are manning the check points [most of them have a paunch, alas]. The metal detector doors [Fisher Labs brand, USA] looked very smart and even very different from the ones commonly found at the railway station or the Sarojini Nagar Market. SPG guards who have their Id cards attached to white chains address you politely ["Sir"] and make you feel special! You finally arrive at the place designated for the meeting. About 150 chairs, all in white covers arranged neatly in two columns, wait for you. The place has a nice look and feel about it with green asbestos roof above, a lawn beside it and concrete wall with latticework on the right.
The fans were really special and I had never seen this kind of fan! There were three kinds of fans in the premise – the regular ceiling fan (Cromptom Greaves brand) creamy white in colour, the wall fans attached to the iron rods (Khaitan brand and rather old), and a Crompton Greaves brand special big and long fans that emitted water because they had big cylindrical bottom holding water. They were like coolers in some ways and were very suitable for desert cooler type effect in open spaces. I could not find it even on the website of Crompton Greaves!
Members of All India Congress Sewa Dal [such as Mr. Mahendra Thakur, whose name I noted from his Id card] wearing white clothes and black shoes were ushering people in the premise. The front three rows were reserved for ‘elected representatives’ while the rest for others. A special feature of the premise was the notices in the premise. These were kind of instructions for the visitors and were both in English and Hindi:
| 1. NO AUTOGRAPH 2. DO NOT TOUCH FEET 3. पैर छुना मना है [spelling mistake as in original] |
I went to the water coolers near the place not for drinking water but for having a better view of the place. The water was not cold enough but the Aquaguad Hiflo water filter was attached to it. There was no knob on the door of one of the toilets near the premise though there were many holes where a knob should have been suggesting that many attempts were made to fix a knob in it! It was an eyesore for me in an otherwise well managed place. A Tata Safari [registration no. 2237] was also parked near the premise.
Rahul appears
Rahul appeared at about 10 am. A Muslim delegation was the first to meet him; he greeted everyone with folded hands. Just about 2-3 minutes to every group/person for obvious reasons. He was with his PA Mr. Anish [Kanish?] who was also a young man and collecting the papers submitted to Rahul and giving further briefings. People were comfortable with him and no one went overboard. We were the third or fourth group to meet him [also because we were sitting almost in the front stall].
Rahul Gandhi’s Personality and our case
Rahul looked okay just as in the media. He is about 170 centimetres and is not a tall man. He was wearing his trademark clothing –Pyjama Kurta and the same specs as seen in his photos in the newspapers. He was calm and composed.
When we said a line on the need for the reforms in the UPSC, he asked us if we were from some student organisation! We went blank for a moment [CSE aspirants do not have time to mobilize to wage a struggle; groups have been formed in the past but they withered away] but then Mr. Naveen among us said that a group named ‘Youth For Justice’ had recently protested against the UPSC [it was also in the media]. Rahul asked us if we had met the “education minister” and we said ‘No’! We were a bit surprised because it had nothing to do with the MHRD but with the DoPT! Rahul asked us to meet MP Meenakshi Natarajan in the AICC headquarters because she was concerned with the education section! Rahul’s PA Mr. Anish gave us Meenakshi’s phone no. and said we should meet her about the case because this matter relates to education and “will have impact on all universities in India!”
Needless to say Rahul or his PA did not had much clue about the UPSC and its functioning. We left the place hoping that he will at least forward our petition to the relevant department! We then went to the AICC headquarters. Our meeting with Rahul and his PA lasted for about 3 minutes only.
AICC Headquarters 24, Akbar road
The HQ opened at about 11 am and people were allowed inside through a small door. A very poor, emaciated person was being denied entry by the guard but later allowed entry upon some persuasion by the former but not until the latter had mocked him saying “he will be medically examined!”
We went to the tiny office of Meenakshi and were told by his PA that she may come only in the afternoon. We also did not had much hope about it anyway and were there because it was stone’ s throw away from the 10 Janpath.
AICC Canteen and Sonia Gandhi’s Office
The AICC canteen was slightly expensive but okay. The taste of drinking water in the premise was not satisfactory. A lot of construction was on in the premise.
Indravir, who had visited the place earlier took us to show Sonia Gandhi’s office in the premise. The special thing about it is that it is sealed when she is not there! I actually read the note on the paper-seal on the lock (This room has been locked by ….. on. … time…)!
12, Tughlaq Lane
Thereafter we went to 12, Tughlaq Lane which is Rahul’s residence because one of us had to book a fresh appointment with him. NSG guards were manning the reception there and even operating the computer!
This was in a nutshell a report of the visit. 
Last revised: 14 December 2009
hi ….vikas… i have been following through your posts after i hit upon your RTI questionnaire… Being a civil services aspirant when i read “It has students’ blood in its hands, to cut a long story short.” …. and the lines that followed after that… it is sometimes demotivating…
Just curious … did u exhaust your attempts..
Thanks Smitha. I have to file many RTIs again. I am not an activist Smitha but just want to do something.
*/Needless to say Rahul or his PA did not had much clue about the UPSC and its functioning. /*
of course as expected..
and loved the way you have pointed about all the details.. even the bathroom door knobs.. and water cooler car registration no. (hope they don’t mind) and the spelling mistake too..
well.. it was like a typical meet the politician who has no clue of who you are and why you are there but must be polite and good to keep up his repo.
P.s – and thanks for rating the video for the social vibe.. you are the only person who has done it on my site.. except for me.. i do it myself to try to help.
Smitha, I have recently paid heavily for my creativity and RTI activism! I just missed an IAS level post in Delhi; I was the topper until the interview stage. I just could not control myself in the interview stage and they found out that I am not the bureaucratic personality who will keep his eyes and mouth shut and therefore did not select me!
Ahh good intricate post. The sealing system is really special.
That means my assumptions were not very wrong..
thanx,i could visualize the aicc headquarter but really disappointed to know that mr. rahul gandhi have no idea how the upsc works..i m surprised that “leader of the youth brigade” asked you to meet the education minister who does not exist in India and as far as i know we have a minister of human resource development in our country…
i feel degree from abroad is not sufficient to become a good leader………….
That was an interesting narration, into a world that was not thought of by people like me!
Welcome Arpit! Glad to find you in the blogosphere again!
Replies to Aryan’s Mom, Vijay and Arun Shankar,
1. Thanks Aryan’s mom! Yes the sealing system at AICC is really special. Even Rahul’s room was not sealed; only Sonia’s room is sealed.
2. Vijay, he may have used the term ‘education minster’ in general. There are others who use the term too. But yes, a member of the govt. could be more precise.
3. Thank you Arun ji. Glad you liked it!
Amen Rashwet! I wish I had the time and resources for a real Maha Sangram!
DISCUSSION WITH SMITHA CONTD…
You can say that Smitha, alas! I look forward to finish a book on UPSC CSE by the end of this year – a thorough critique.
look whose back from the dead!
yeah you guessed right! hehe……………..
by the way i read the orkut update about your meeting witth rahul gandhi …..but right now dont feel like commenting on it ! in fact suddenly i am feeling so happy to return back to blogging world all of a sudden will catch up with all the posts later!
till then bbyE!
vikas bhaiya
just all the best for your “MAHA SANGRAM” against ‘UPSC”. I hope your efforts shall bring fruits of transparency in the institution.
Hi,
Stumbled across while browsing through WP. Enjoyed reading your post on the meeting with Rahul Gandhi.
Though I just ended feeling sorry for the guy. From your account, it seems like he tries ‘delegating’ everything without having the time or the experience to understand what the issue is about or what really needs to be done.
Ofcourse this yuvaraj will be PM someday. But will it actually be good for the country? Will he really be able to handle such a huge responsibility efficiently?!
GOK.
Cheers..
Dear Mr. Vikas,
I am big fan of Rahul Gandhi, thats why i was searching some news releated to him and i found your blog “Two minutes with Rahul Gandhi: Experience of a meeting at 10, Janpath.” I am very much impressed with this blog. Coz i felty that you have spend only 2 min. with Mr. Rahul Gandhi but the way you explain all thses things in his office suddenly creat a picture of it in our mind. So that we could felt that we were present there.
It was rerally feel nice to read this article. I hope you will do addition in our knowledge always by this way.
Regards,
Yogesh
Hi Vikas
How are you man..???
Hope you recognized me..!!!
Check out my new post [Recruitment + Politics = Corruption] on my blog http://iasaspirant.wordpress.com
I appreciate this post…!!
Keep fighting man..!!
What you say about 2nd ARC’s recommendation regarding reduction of age limit [21 to 25] in civil services…???
you are a great vacuas……thank god you have not been selected by UPSC
sir mera naam shivendra singh tomar hai aur me aapse kuch baat karna chahta hun me u.p ke disst,, jaloun ka rahne wala hamare yahaan congress bahut kam hai lekin ab sabhi cangress se judna chahte hai isliye meri aapse request hai ki aap hamare yahaan ek apna program rakhe me apni tarf se saaari vyabastha karunga ……….. contect number >>9039633294
respected sir i want toreally meet rahul gandhi ji plz if possible its very urgent call me on 9871083259
Hello Smitha,
You don’t ask a woman her age and a CSE aspirant his/her attempts! That’s the unwritten rule! Don’t worry; I still have a some scope for action left.
The exam is unpredictable because at every stage there is some problem or the other. From the Central Information Commission to the High Court, students have shown the UPSC mirror more than once but it will not reform itself!
If you are a newcomer, don’t get discouraged by it. There is not much you can do here apart from working hard. This link will discourage you even more http://upsc.wordpress.com
Hi………. well…curiosity can sometimes break rules…
It seemed to me as if your scope for action is history (which fortunately is not) and you have started UPSC Activism in a wake to get even with the system……One of those revolutionary types!!!!!!!!!!
I have visited upsc.wordpress.com earlier… I thought your RTI Questionnaire was for fun…No wonder they did not answer it..
I am not new to UPSC but since i do not have the privilege to be in DELHI i am unable to experience the UPSCized Atmosphere of National Capital!!!!!!!!!!!
But I appreciate your Questionnaire!! Its the first one of a kind.. detailed!!!!!
Smitha,
Most people think that those who raise voice have actually exhausted their attempts! What is more most people think that students should concern themselves only with studying.
Yes that RTI was also for fun. But UPSC does not give info to most RTIs, rest assured.
Thanks for the comments.
Oorja,
Thank you for the elaborate comment. Your comment on the politician is so valid!
Thank YOU for having that Social widget; most people including me are not using it. Your heart bleeds for the society needless to say. Whenever i come to your blog, I will help you with the social cause!
Hi Vikas,
Well I have hands on experience with RTI in the place i work… I have seen the callous attitude of those officers… Even with relevant RTI queries… There is so much clumsiness in answering those short one liner queries.
However…The post is interesting to read!!!
I appreciate your activism!!!!!!!!
Regards
Smitha
One need not be an activist to make change happen!! Yes do that!! RTI … personally i like it too… its a good tool to trouble difficult people… Just Kidding…
Cheers!!!
Smitha Kumaran
“Be Bold and mighty forces shall come to your aid”
Smitha, you tried leaving your Orkut link in the web address and it had gone to spam! You can add me on Orkut if you also want to; I am http://www.orkut.co.in/Main#Profile.aspx?uid=4638682818070630592&rl=t
Cool … it would be a best seller!!!!!!!!!
Pal, I think we are being harsh on the guy. This is a very small sample. He is taking active interest in the working of the party to the working of the country. He knows he is inexperienced. He will still be better than many other contenders for the post. I think today her sister Priyanka is a more mature woman.
Thanks Yogesh and welcome to the blog.
Dhankar,
I of course remember you! I checked your blog. Great you started it on WordPress and not blogspot.
I am not in favour of age reduction. That’s missing the point! The best thing to do is to make it a lean exam so that it does not cost time and an arm and a leg and anybody can come, write the exam and move forward if not selected. Many students from rural areas get their BA degrees rather late [and people including me have gap years too]! I am against age reduction.
Ranjeet, feel free to criticise me more; it is neither here nor there for me! And you don’t have to thank God for that; it is the UPSC who deserves your heart-felt thanks.