After images and short visuals of Congress leader and Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi’s venturing into the sea with Kerala fishermen hit the internet and took many by surprise, now a 23-minute-long video of the same has been released by Kerala’s popular YouTube channel ‘Fishing Freaks’. The YouTube video which has garnered over 7.22 lakh views in just a day, shows the whole fishing trip of Rahul Gandhi, and his interaction with fishermen.
Clad in a blue T-shirt and pants, Rahul Gandhi joined the vlogging team in a Kollam harbour at around 4 am on Tuesday. Though the vloggers were informed about Rahul Gandhi’s visit, the fishermen, who did not know that the top Congress leader would be accompanying them to sea, were taken by surprise when Rahul boarded the boat.
In the video, the fishermen could be seen asking Rahul Gandhi if he needs a life jacket for safety. But he can be seen politely declining it. He further talks to the YouTube vlogger saying that he was a scuba diving instructor earlier.
From asking even the small details like how fishers recognise a fish school, about the profit sharing, to the technical aspects of the boats, Rahul can be seen showing a keen interest in knowing how the fishermen carry out their work.
“I wanted to get the idea what they are doing..how easy or difficult it is. We wanted to do it for sometime but everytime it got cancelled,” Rahul Gandhi says as the boat speeds further into the sea.
Ten minutes into the video, the team spots fish and starts to lay nets. It is then, as a few fishermen jumped into the sea to check on the nets, that Rahul Gandhi jumped into the sea as well, taking the fishermen by surprise yet again. Heart warmingly, the fishermen can be seen asking Rahul to be safe as he starts to swim in the sea.
Spending about 10 minutes in the water, he gets back on to the boat, and continues to interact with the fishermen. Unfortunately, the fishermen did not get a catch as they expected, once the net got pulled back.
“It is difficult and they are competing with big trawlers. I wanted to understand their efforts. A lot of effort but very little (result),” Rahul Gandhi can be seen saying.
In the video, Rahul Gandhi can also be seen relishing breakfast with the fishermen, which was cooked in the boat itself. “Very good,” Rahul says after tasting fish curry.
Towards the end, before reaching the shore, Rahul even goes on to take a group photo with about 20 fishermen in the boat.
Watch the video below:
Earlier, during his visit to Tamil Nadu in January, Rahul Gandhi similarly was seen in a popular YouTube cooking channel, where he took part in making mushroom biriyani.