NEW DELHI: Rahul Gandhi went from Parliament to Gotham, at least on Instagram, when a playful Batman question landed in his Gen Z-focused “Ask Me Anything” session on Thursday. Asked if he was the masked superhero, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha delivered a tongue-in-cheek reply that quickly caught social media’s attention.Gandhi launched the AMA session on Instagram, inviting young people to question him on subjects ranging from student protests and education to politics and philosophy. Sharing the initiative on X, Gandhi wrote, “Students, Gen-Z — I’m here to listen. Ask me anything on Instagram, and I’ll answer as many questions as I can.”Among the questions was an interesting one, “Are you Batman?” Gandhi appeared to embrace the long-running social media meme comparing him with the fictional superhero.“Let’s just say that no one has ever seen me and Batman in the same room together,” Gandhi replied.The Congress subsequently shared video clips of several answers from the session. Gandhi also posted a video of himself standing in the rain with The Dark Knight theme playing in the background, adding to the Batman reference that quickly drew attention online.Gandhi’s Gen Z outreach comes as political leaders increasingly turn to social media to connect with younger audiences. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also stepped up his Instagram engagement, from sharing a selfie video addressing “friends” to inviting people to share videos featuring their favourite handloom products, including “GRWM” (Get Ready With Me) videos. RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat also backed students on Thursday and said, “I feel this new generation, Gen Z, Gen Alpha, they are more honest than our existing generation.”Rahul’s ‘AMA’ session also touched on the ongoing student protests in Jharkhand over alleged irregularities in recruitment examinations. Asked about the protests, Gandhi said the country’s education system had failed students.“The student protests that are happening in the country are against the education system. I have stated it clearly, in Kota, Dehradun and will say it in Allahabad, that our education system has collapsed, it is unaffordable and oppressive.”
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He added, “Every government, be it the central government, Congress government or Jharkhand government, should listen to what students are saying and take action to change the education system.”The Jharkhand protests, which began on July 25 under the banner of the JPSC-JSSC Reforms Manch, had entered their 13th day on Thursday, with six demonstrators reportedly on hunger strike.Gandhi was also asked about young women fighting for their right to education. “India’s women are our strength, our biggest asset and frankly I do not appreciate the way women are treated in society, the way our education system treats our women and the way our corporate system treats our women,” he said.On his favourite BJP politician, Gandhi named former Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh, saying, “I get along with him, he is cool. He is an expert on military history. Hello, uncle Amarinder.”
