Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday released a video of his meeting with Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav, where he is seen picking the senior politician’s brain on politics and imbibing culinary skills from him. “I always find Laluji to be very incisive and I respect his political gyan,” Gandhi said in the video.
Sharing the video on X, the Congress leader said, “Interesting conversation with popular leader, Laluji, on his secret recipe and ‘political spice’. INDIA’s vision for the poor, underprivileged, minorities and women is one — equality, progress and empowerment,” he wrote in his post in Hindi, referring to the opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) front, a grouping of 28 opposition parties that have come together to take on the BJP-led NDA in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The seven-minute-long Youtube video is from his dinner meeting with Lalu Prasad at the residence of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Misa Bharti last month. He is seen learning the recipe for “Champaran mutton” preparation from Prasad, while Misa Bharti joins along. Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav also accompanies them.
Later, Gandhi and Lalu are also seen discussing politics and exchanging views on “hate being spread”.
During their conversation, Gandhi asks Prasad what his suggestion to him and other next-generation politicians would be, to which the RJD leader says, “My suggestion is that your parents, grandparents had shown a new path to the country and kept it on the righteous path, you should not forget that.”
The Congress leader also asks Lalu what according to him is ‘political masala’, to which, the Lalu Prasad replies, “Political masala is to struggle and fighting injustice.”
The RJD supremo then asks Gandhi if he knows to cook, to which the Wayanad MP replied that he is not “an expert” but knows “basics of cooking”, as while living in Europe, he had to learn.
In the video, Gandhi also asks Prasad about the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) allegedly spreading hatred, to which the RJD leader says the political hunger of the saffron party is never satiated. “When the economic situation is better, this (spreading of hate) happens less and when it is bad, this happens more. Right now, the economic situation is bad, so this is on the rise,” he says.
Later, Tejashwi also joins in the conversation and asserts that there needs to be “positive politics, progressive politics”. “We should strive to preserve the beauty and the diversity of the nation,” he said.
The leaders also talk about eliminating hatred and “open mohabbat ki dukan”.
In the video, Rahul Gandhi also says that he needs to pack the mutton for his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and at the end of the video, Priyanka Gandhi is seen relishing the dish.
She then asks her brother, “tell me the truth who made it”, to which Rahul replies, “Lalu ji, Misa and I cooked it together.”