His own government is ready to accommodate his wishes and suggestions, but Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi is looking beyond the government initiatives and eager to rope in private sector icons.
On Tuesday, Gandhi came to his constituency, Amethi in Uttar Pradesh, along with Microsoft chairman Bill Gates, one of the world's richest men and a noted philanthropist.
Gates interacted with the locals, especially women self-help groups, and promised he would develop the area as a hub for information technology (IT).
Amethi and Rae Bareli, the two electoral bastions of the Gandhi family, have establishments of a few public sector undertakings like SAIL, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd and Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd.
It also has factories of ACC and Indo Gulf Fertilizers. Rahul Gandhi, MP of Amethi since 2004, had been trying to bring fresh investments and educational institutes in this area that is yet to have a university or major technical institutes.
Gates and Gandhi flew in a chartered aircraft from Delhi to Lucknow this morning before driving to Bahadurpur village where Gates addressed a meeting of Rajiv Gandhi Mahila Vikas Pariyojna, one of the biggest self-help groups for women in the area.
In his speech, translated into Hindi by a local Congressman, Gates explained the importance of computer literacy to the local people. He also said he would try his best to develop Amethi and the adjoining Rae Bareli (Sonia Gandhi's Lok Sabha constituency) as an IT hub.
