Thaindian News

Lucknow, Dec 11 (IANS) Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi called on All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) chief Maulana Rabe Nadwi here Sunday, further indicating the party’s intent to woo Muslims ahead of the 2012 Uttar Pradesh polls.

Gandhi had an hour-long closed door session with Nadwi, who also heads the Lucknow-based Nadwatul Ulema Darul-Uloom, one of Asia’s leading schools of Islamic studies.

The visit came close on the heels of his Saturday address to party functionaries, to whom he gave a categorical assurance about the central government’s decision to provide reservations for Muslims.

Addressing Youth Congress activists at the state Congress headquarters during the last leg of his two-day Lucknow visit, Rahul urged them to go whole hog into the election campaign with a missionary zeal.

He also advised them to completely ignore negative media reports.

“Just do not pay any heed to whatever the media says. Even if they say that Congress is losing, do not react. What is important for you is that you must not lose your focus and determination, which needs to be backed with hard work. Then nothing can stop us from winning,” he said.

Earlier Saturday night, Gandhi suddenly slipped out of the VVIP guest house and ventured into a couple of villages on the outskirts of the state capital, where he walked into homes of Dalits and other poor villagers.