Youths on their way to see Rahul in Sahebganj on Wednesday. (Manoj Sah)

Sahebganj, Oct. 14: Local tribal students of Sahebganj College were invited to make up the numbers at a convention hosted by the Congress for Rahul Gandhi, but they seemed to have been outnumbered by non-tribals leaving the AICC general secretary to mull over a number of complex issues concerning Jharkhand during the remaining part of his two-day visit to the state.

Seema Khalko, who was studying LLB at Ranchi College, highlighted problems of students in Sahebganj. “Since there are no job-oriented courses or any medical college or engineering college here, students have to go to distant places,” she said.

Two other student leaders, Ignatius Murmu and Manoj Marandi of Sahebganj College, also aired similar views. When Laus Hansdak, a school teacher, asked Rahul about the failure of the party to hold panchayat elections in the state, he apparently pointed to Youth Congress president Ashok Tawar, who asked him to e-mail him his question.

At the interaction, held away from the media, sources claimed, Rahul heard the youngsters of the state with patience, but kept his replies to a minimum as it was primarily an exercise for him to feel the pulse of the youth.

Addressing the conference for about 11 minutes before the interaction, Rahul appealed to the youth from tribal communities to come forward and change the fate of Jharkhand.

“You should take it as a challenge and the party will always support you,” he said. “In India, there are two classes. Garib India (poor people) and amir India (rich people). We have to unite the two different communities by virtue of our effort, dedication and hard labour and then only can we dream of a great India.”

According to sources, 700 special passes were distributed for today’s conference at S.K. Bhavan. But, there were only around 400 participants.

“We allowed people between 18 and 35. So, many who were above the age limit had to be turned away,” said Pradeep Manjhi, a Congress MP from Orissa, who was among the organisers of the meet.

One such disappointed visitor was Victor Malto, the convener of Adivasi Buddhijibi Manch, an organisation of tribal intellectuals. He had come from Calcutta to place a set of demands, but was told to leave because of his age.

“Lack of co-ordination among local and visiting leaders created much of the problem today,” he alleged.

In the end, there seemed to be quite a few who weren’t happy. “The youth love Rahul and his charisma. But today’s tribal conference has been a flop as the party failed to gather tribal youths from all over Santhal Pargana,” alleged Sarika, a participant.