When Rahul and Priyanka stopped by at a Shamli dhaba for tea

A roadside dhaba, two kilometres from Shamli, had unexpected visitors on Wednesday- Congress President Rahul Gandhi, general secretary (eastern Uttar Pradesh) Priyanka Gandhi and general secretary (western Uttar Pradesh) Jyotiraditya Scindia.

The Congress trio, along with President of Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee Raj Babbar, visited the Shiv Dhaba, managed by Sachin who hails from Mavi Kalan, a nearby village. The Congress leaders, on their way to meet the martyrs’ family who had lost their lives in the Pulwama terror attack, ordered tea for the those in the convoy.

“I asked Rahul if he liked our tea. He said it was fine,” says Sachin, who seems to be head over heels after the Congress leaders paid him a visit.

“But Jyotiraditya Scindia said that the tea was a bit too sweet,” he recalls.

Priyanka Gandhi, meanwhile, was busy interacting with a passing crowd of villagers. “She lifted an infant in her arms and seemed quite amused,” says Sachin, who has been managing the family business ever since his father passed away.

Sachin recalls that there aren’t many jobs for the youth in the village anyway, which compelled him to take care of his family business. “There are youngsters in the village who are graduates and postgraduates. Even they haven’t been able to find a job,” he complains.

Another local, Arshad Malik, a law student, happened to be passing by when he saw Rahul and other leaders. “I requested for a photograph with Rahul and Priyanka. They readily obliged. The picture is going to be the most memorable one of my life,” tells Malik.