Rahul Gandhi (L) and M K Stalin.
Credit: PTI photo
Coimbatore: Stopping his convey mid-way and crossing the road by jumping over a divider, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi went to a famous sweet shop in this industrial city on Friday evening to buy ‘mysurpa’ for his “elder brother” M K Stalin, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK President.
Rahul, who was in Coimbatore to address a joint rally with Stalin, presented the sweet box at the meeting venue to the DMK chief, who was visibly happy and surprised at the gesture.
Quoting a tweet by the official X handle of the Indian National Congress (INC) which had posted a video of Rahul's ‘surprise visit’ to the sweet shop, Stalin wrote: “Anbirkum undo adaikkum thaal (Can love be bolted). Touched and overwhelmed by the 'sweet gesture' from my brother Rahul Gandhi. On June 4th, I.N.D.I.A. will surely deliver him a sweet victory.”
The video has gone viral on social media platforms after Rahul himself shared it on his Instagram page. It shows Rahul jumping over a divider in Coimbatore, known as the Manchester of South India, and getting into Singanallur Sri Vigneshwara Sweets along with Tamil Nadu Congress Committee chief K Selva Perunthagai and AICC in-charge Ajoy Kumar.
“What’s famous here?” Rahul asks, and pat comes the reply, “mysurpa.”
When a woman asks him who he is buying the sweets for, Rahul replies, “my brother Stalin.” After paying Rs 750 for 1 kg of mysurpa, Rahul thanked the staff at the shop and posed for a picture with them along with the sweet box.
Later, at the rally, Rahul called Stalin his “elder brother” and added that he “doesn’t say this about any other politician.” Rahul and Stalin call each other brother, with the Tamil Nadu chief minister revealing once that it was the Wayanad MP who asked him to call him “brother.”
“I used to address Rahul Gandhi as sir. He would always correct me saying I am his elder brother. He is the one who insisted that I should call him brother,” Stalin had told a public meeting in 2021.
Narrating how Rahul’s ‘sweet gesture’ unfolded, Selva Perunthagai told DH that it was the Congress leader who asked him what gift he could get for Stalin.
“That is when I told him it would be late to buy a gift as such, but we can buy sweets for the Chief Minister (Stalin) as he likes them. On our way, we found a famous sweet shop, but it was on the other side of the road. When we told him that taking a U-turn and going there would make him late for the rally, Rahul ji said he will jump over the divider,” the TNCC chief said.
“We went to the shop where the owner and staff were surprised to see Rahul ji. He bought 1 kg of mysurpa for Rs 750,” Selva Perunthagai added.