Firdaus Khan
Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi on Friday kept his promise made to the students of Kashmir during his last visit that he would bring top industrialists to the state. He addressed a gathering of more than 700 students at the Kashmir University auditorium. Sharing the stage with him was an excellent panel of big business titans of the country including Ratan Tata, Kumarmangalam Birla, Rajiv Bajaj and Deepak Parekh.

When Rahul Gandhi had visited the valley last year he had promised the students that he would bring industry leaders to Jammu and Kashmir after they complained to him about lack of jobs and investments in the state. The students were very ecstatic to see big business magnates with them.

While addressing the students, Rahul Gandhi told the students that the business personalities have come to have a honest and blunt interaction with them. The Congress General Secretary also laid the foundation stone for the Lal Ded Girl hostel in the campus.

Rahul Gandhi said that I welcome the titans of industries and the young students here. I had come last year and I had promised you that mine will not be an event but will be a life long journey. It will be an opportunity to understand your perspective. The Vice Chancellor had read out what you have done. My perspective is to understand what you are facing, to stand with you, to work with you to improve the situation.

Last time some students had told me that big businesses are not coming to Kashmir. At least some of you must be recalling what I had said that time. I had told that why can’t we talk to some of the business personalities to know from what they are worried about? It is a fact that, at the end of the day the business class needs to do business. They want a stable situation for running the business.

Today I am very happy to have these personalities here and they are going to have a free interaction with you. They are going to be blunt and honest with you. And you also should be honest with them. This is going to be an important communication.

And finally.. Lot of people say Kashmir is a beautiful place.  Today I was staying at the guest house where I used to stay with my grandmother and when I looked out side, I said .. look how beautiful the place is. But really the beauty of this place is not the place but the people…  Thank you”