Rahul calls his day out with fishers in Kollam 'a dream'

Kollam: It was "a dream come true" said Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday after spending an hour in the sea on a boat with fishermen off the coast here in Kerala.He arrived in the seashore village near here and took off on the fishing boat. When he returned, he said it has been on his bucket list for a long time to spend some time with the fishers here. The Wayanad MP said he has been asking the leaders here to arrange for him to travel with the fisher folk.

"Right from the time I hopped into the boat, the travel on the high sea till the time I got out, it was all an experienced that taught me how difficult life is for a fisherman, who is engaged in a fight with the sea and finally the biggest profit is for someone else."

"I saw for myself when the net was cast and later pulled out, there was just one squid, I was expecting a net full of fish, but it was not to be," said Gandhi, as he engaged in a direct interaction with thousands of fishermen who had turned up on the seashore to hear him."This one hour in the sea has made me respect you even more because your life is dangerous and risky and even though we all eat fish, not many think of the tough life that you have.

"First time I have realised the difficulties of yours to get the fish on others' plate," added Gandhi and asked the huge gathering of fisher folk to tell what they want.Replying to a question on what the former Congress President's plans were for the fisher folk, Gandhi said, "while the farmers have a dedicated ministry, the fishermen do not have".

"I assure you that we will set up a dedicated ministry for looking after your needs. I will do my best to see how your life can be made easy."The Congress-led UDF here is now in the process of preparing a manifesto. I will ask the people engaged in preparing it to have a detailed conversation with you to know what you need and include it in the manifesto. Once included, I will assure you that it will be done," added Gandhi.