I learnt to be an Indian from mother: Rahul

Rahul Gandhi has said he learnt being an Indian from his mother Sonia Gandhi and that it was his "fundamental right to help India" by joining politics.

Rahul Gandhi has said he learnt being an Indian from his mother Sonia Gandhi and that it was his "fundamental right to help India" by joining politics.

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In an interview to a news agency on board the flight from New Delhi to Lucknow on his way to Amethi, from where he is contesting the parliamentary election, Rahul said: "I am an Indian because of my mother. I learnt to be an Indian from my mother. My mother is completely Indian. She is an outcast in Italy."

During his whirlwind tour of his constituency, Rahul denied that he was a shy person. "Rahul Gandhi was never shy. It was the media which projected that image," he said when asked how a shy person like him felt after joining politics.

"Politics, however, has hurt my family. My father was killed. My grandmother was killed," said Rahul.

Asked about the allegations of corruption against the Gandhi family, Rahul said he did not bother about them. "When your soul is pure you will be able to walk alone," he said, adding: "Let them abuse me. Let them beat me. Let them kill me, my heart beats for India."

Alluding to the Bofors charges, Rahul said: "They continued to make allegations against my father for 17 years. When I told my father to counter the allegations, he said there was no need to do so. When you are honest and true to yourself, there is no need to counter such things."

Rahul said there were enemies of Jawaharlal Nehru, his grandmother Indira Gandhi and father Rajiv Gandhi. "It gives me a sense of pride," he said, that there may now be enemies of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi also.

Asked if the Congress was using him as a trump card, Rahul said the question was irrelevant. "Elections come and elections go," he said, adding: "What goal you have in your mind and how you stick to them are more important."

He refused to take questions about the chances of his sister Priyanka joining politics and when he would start campaigning. "I am not going to tell

you that now," he said while

admitting that he was missing Priyanka.

(With Indo-Asian News Service)