 "Opposition at its heart is voice of people, says Rahul Gandhi in US")
Opposition is the voice of the people, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has said in Dallas, Texas, underscoring that its main focus is to raise issues concerning the people after understanding their perspectives "carefully" and "sensitively".
Gandhi, who is the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, is on a four-day unofficial trip to the US.
During an interaction with students at the University of Texas in Dallas on Sunday, Gandhi said, "Opposition at its heart is the voice of people, there is a whole sequence of events that go on, but what you generally think about is where and how can I raise the issues of the people of India."
"You are thinking from an individual perspective, and also from (a) group perspective, industry perspective, farmer perspective, the important thing is you do it sensitively and after listening and understanding carefully," he added.
Talking about Parliamentary proceedings, Gandhi described them as a "pleasant war" of ideas and words.
"You go to the Parliament in the morning, then it's like a war, you go in and then you fight, it's a pleasant war, it's reasonably fun at times, can be nasty also, but it's a war of ideas and words," he said.
"When you are new to politics, you see an issue, you think that is an issue, but when you go into details, you realise that there is nuance and complexity, so understanding that nuance and then planning your day according to that, that's how it generally works," he said.
Gandhi arrived in Dallas on Saturday night and was welcomed by dozens of members of the Indian-American community led by senior Congress leader Sam Pitroda and president of Indian National Overseas Congress, USA, Mohinder Gilzian.
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During his trip, Gandhi will interact with the members of the Indian diaspora and youths in Washington, DC, too.
He also plans to meet lawmakers and senior officials of the US government during his visit to Washington DC, beginning Monday.