Don't feel isolated, Rahul tells people of north-east

“India is yours and you are Indians… never feel isolated. Travel the country for exposure,” Gandhi told a group of students at the Don Bosco Institute in Assam's main city of Guwahati.

he was on a daylong visit to the city to start his campaign 'Aam Aadmi Ka Sipahi' (AAKS - 'common man's soldier') in Assam. The campaign aims to popularise the flagship programmes of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government.
“Rahul Gandhi interacted with the students for about 90 minutes and drove home two pertinent points -- that people of the northeast should not feel alienated and that people from this region should go outside and get maximum exposure,” V.M. Thomas of the institute said.

Speaking at a party meeting to launch the campaign, Gandhi highlighted the role of panchayats in listening to people and finding out problems they face.
“The sipahis should make people at the grassroots level aware of various flagship programmes of the UPA government. The idea is to bring about transparency in the functioning of the government,” Gandhi said.

There will be a group of three AAKS in each panchayat and they would work with the common people to ensure that the masses are able to derive the benefits of the policies launched by the Congress-led UPA Government.

“In particular, the Youth Congress through AAKS will focus on the NREGS (National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme), and ensure that the programme benefits, which have now been extended to the entire country, can reach the common man,” Gandhi said.