Rahul Gandhi watches 'Phule' at Patna cinema hall

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday turned up at a cinema hall in Patna where he watched 'Phule', the recently released biopic based on the lives of 19th-century social reformers Jyotirao Phule and Savitribai Phule.

The leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, who began his day-long tour of Bihar with a students' interaction event in Darbhanga, reached the state capital on a helicopter and drove straight to a mall in the heart of the city which houses a multiplex.

Several persons from across the state, including Congress workers and social activists who insisted that they were "non-political", had turned up to watch the film with Gandhi, armed with special passes issued by the party.

"I am a social activist, not associated with the party, who has nevertheless attended all recent functions of Rahul Gandhi held in Bihar. This is my first chance to watch a movie with him," said Asharfi Sada, a resident of Darbhanga.

Uday Chandravanshi, a working president of District Congress Committee, Patna (Rural), said, "By watching the movie with people from deprived sections of the society, Rahul Gandhi made a strong statement that he is devoted to fighting for the cause of Dalits, tribals and OBCs, from the streets to Parliament."

However, after Gandhi entered the movie hall, quite a few people created a ruckus outside, alleging that they were denied entry despite having passes.

"I have come all the way from Nawada district. The staff did not allow us to enter saying it was housefull. This cannot be since the number of passes issued could not exceed the number of seats inside. This seems yet another mischief of political opponents of Rahul Gandhi," alleged Nilesh Singh Chandravanshi.

"I belong to the Mali community. This makes me a descendant (vanshaj) of Jyotiba Phule and Ramabai. But I am being prevented from watching the film with our leader Rahul Gandhi," he added.