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Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday hosted a vegetable vendor who had gone viral on social media at his residence for lunch. Gandhi also shared a photo with him on X (formerly known as Twitter), saying that Rameshwar, the vendor, is a “lively person” and reflected the “calm nature” of crores of Indians in the face of adversity.

A video of Rameshwar had gone viral in July over his interview with The Lallantop, India Today’s sister channel, on the soaring prices of tomatoes. In a follow-up video, Rameshwar said he wanted to meet Rahul Gandhi.

Now, Rahul Gandhi has shared a photo with Rameshwar with the caption, “Rameshwar ji is a lively person! One can see the innate nature of crores of Indians in them. Those who move ahead with a smile even in adverse circumstances are truly ‘Bharat Bhagya Vidhaata’.”

RAHUL GANDHI’S REACTION TO VIRAL VIDEO

In July, Rahul Gandhi had shared a video on his official Twitter handle, showing a vegetable vendor in tears at the Azadpur market in Delhi.

In the video, Rameshwar, the vegetable vendor, with teary eyes said, “The tomatoes are too expensive. I do not have enough money to buy it.”

“We are not even sure at what price we will be able to sell it. If they get damp in the rain or something happens to the stock, we end up making a loss,” the distressed farmer had said.

The vendor added that inflation had put him in a desperate situation and he couldn’t even earn Rs 100-200 a day.

While sharing the video, Rahul Gandhi said that the country was being “divided into two classes”.

“On one hand, there are powerful people who have protected power, on whose instructions the policies of the country are being made. And on the other hand is the common Indian, from whose reach even basic things like vegetables are going away,” Gandhi said.

“We have to fill this widening gap between the rich and the poor and wipe away these tears,” he added.