In diamond city, Rahul quotes 'Gandhi's' gems

The first thing he did on arriving for his first stage show in Gujarat was to tear apart the side covers of the stage, allowing better visibility.

For the next four hours, Rahul Gandhi, the Congress' star campaigner, tried to break the political barriers his party has been facing in this BJP stronghold, where the saffron party clinched four out of five seats in the previous elections.

Roaming in a black BMW, the young Gandhi gave this diamond city his dose of "Gandhigiri". He didn't utter the name of Chief Minister Narendra Modi, didn't mention the BJP's rebel factor or joined Modi's battle on Hindutva.

Instead, during his whirlwind tour of Surat, he harped on development, Mahatma Gandhi and attacked the government for "lying."

"Many people believe Mahatma Gandhi's ideology is no more relevant. I do not think so. Whenever I face problems, I try to find solutions from Gandhi's philosophy," he said.

On Modi's governance, he said, "Gandhi always asked people to search for truth. This government is not honest. It hides its face behind lies. This government thinks repeating lies will convert them into truth. It believes that if it they screams, those who are searching for truth will run away out of fear. This is not going to happen."

Asking the people to vote in a Congress government, he refuted the claims of success by the Modi government on education, electricity and tribal welfare. He cited his visit to an Australian city to shower praises on people and the diamond industry of Surat.

"People of Gujarat are successful, not the state government," he said. His maiden tour outside his home turf of Uttar Pradesh started at the posh Umra Jagat Nagar and ended at the Muslim-dominated Chowk area of old Surat.

And he didn't disappoint. Keeping his car's front door open, he stood on the side all along, shook hands with the frenzied crowd and maintained his dimpled smile. He spoke two sentences in Gujarati and didn't forget to garland the statues of Sardar Patel and Babasaheb Ambedkar.

He walked on rose petals on his way to the podiums but came across booing BJP protesters. Here too, he smiled and waved at his adversaries.