Gandhi had earlier shared a picture of his meeting with the vegetable vendor on social media.
(Image: ‘X’, formerly known asTwitter/ Rahul Gandhi Official account)
The vegetable vendor, whose video clip that showed him breaking down while talking about his hardships due to inflation had gone viral on social media, met Gandhi along with his family for lunch on August 14
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday shared a video of his meeting with the vegetable vendor Rameshwar at his residence in Delhi and called for listening to the voice of an India whose “pain and challenges are far removed from the mainstream debate”. The vegetable vendor, whose video clip that showed him breaking down while talking about his hardships due to inflation had gone viral on social media, met Gandhi along with his family for lunch on August 14.
Sharing a video on X (formerly known as Twitter), Gandhi said, “Rameshwar ji is the voice of an India whose pain, issues and challenges are far away from the mainstream debate today. It is the moral responsibility of all of us to listen to the voice of that India and cooperate in fighting the struggles.”
रामेश्वर जी उस भारत की आवाज़ हैं जिसकी पीड़ा, मुद्दे और चुनौतियां आज मुख्यधारा की बहस से बहुत दूर हैं।उस भारत की आवाज़ सुनना और संघर्षों का मुकाबला करने में साथ निभाना हम सब की नैतिक ज़िम्मेदारी है।
उनकी सच्चाई और सादगी से भरी बातचीत का पूरा वीडियो: https://t.co/OL3hB2rQVQ pic.twitter.com/JTwUulQ4aF
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) August 18, 2023
In the video, the Congress leader can be seen interacting with Rameshwar and his family members. He also asked the vegetable vendor to call him by his name, upon being called as “sir”.
In the video, Rameshwar, ahead of his meeting with Gandhi, says it was “Bharat milaap” or “Sudama meeting Krishna” and that he was fortunate to have got this opportunity. Rameshwar then visits Gandhi’s house along with his wife and daughter.
Legend has it that Sudama and Krishna were childhood friends who grew up together. While Krishna went on to become a king, Sudama led a life of poverty. Their emotional reunion after a long time is held as an example of true friendship.
In the video, Gandhi is seen asking Rameshwar about his struggles and the vegetable vendor says he had worked hard but had not got much in return. The vegetable vendor says that all he needed was someone to share his pain which he got in Gandhi.
The Congress leader also explained to him the party’s proposed income guarantee scheme.
Gandhi says he had gone to the Azadpur Mandi in Delhi to meet Rameshwar after his video had gone viral but could not find him.
Rameshwar’s family and Gandhi also had lunch together, according to the video of the meeting on Monday.
In the viral video which put the spotlight on Rameshwar, the vegetable vendor was seen with his empty hand-cart, saying that he could not buy tomatoes as the prices were very high.
Asked if he would buy some other vegetables, he said “paise nahin hain” (I do not have money) and then broke down. The video had gone viral and had been shared by Gandhi as well as several other Congress leaders to hit out at the government over rising prices.
(with inputs from PTI)
