Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi, while on the campaign trail in western Uttar Pradesh, interacted with artisans and craftsmen at Moradabad on Saturday. Moradabad is represented by cricketer Mohd Azharuddin who won in 2009 on a Congress ticket. Gandhi's brother-in-law Robert Vadra's family also hails from there. Local craftsmen, including the city's famous brassware makers, highlighted the problems being faced by them namely that they had no particular Union ministry dedicated to look into the issues of crafts and craftsmen. A surprised Rahul Gandhi then asked the gathering, "Do you fall under the commerce ministry?" To which the craftsmen informed him that they were under the ambit of the ministry of textiles, with only a commissioner of handicrafts deputed for it.
An incredulous Gandhi then went on to add, "But what does textile have to do with it. What does textile have to do with brass work for instance?" Now, one would have expected that Gandhi should have been well versed with the functioning of the Union ministries given that he has been an MP for a decade. The craftsmen, instead of being helped by one of the most prominent leaders of the Congress, themselves helped Gandhi to be better informed.
