Rahul promises to take up problems of porters

A day before the railway budget, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi Tuesday reached out to the porter community and promised to take up their problems and demands with Railway Minister Mallikarjun Kharge.

Interacting with dozens of porters at the New Delhi Railway Station here, Gandhi said he wants to hear their problems in detail.

"I want to build a relationship with you, I want to hear your problems in detail," he told the porters, according to tweets from the Indian National Congress' official Twitter handle.

"I can only promise one thing. I'll do whatever I can for you, with my heart," he said.

"I will take your problems to the railway ministry so that they can solve your problems," he said.

"Your time is your money and you have spent your money by giving me your time," Gandhi added.

To the porters' demand for a complimentary pass for the entire family not once but twice in a year, he promised to take it up with Kharge.

Gandhi, who has been interacting with members of marginalised sections, also promised them that they should get immediate compensation if they met with an accident during the course of their work.

The Congress leader also said that they should get their "right" so that they could provide security to themselves and to their families.