Kozhikode: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi attended a book launch event featuring speeches by the late P Seethi Haji at Kerala's Kozhikode on Wednesday.
Rahul Gandhi, while speaking at the launch event, said, "It is an honour for me to come and release the book. I would like to thank Haji for the work he did. He was a carpenter and I think all his life he built bridges between communities, people and ideas."
The Congress leader further said during his speech that for him, the single most important characteristic of a leader is humility.
"I believe that if a leader is not humble and if a leader is not able to observe himself, then he cannot be a leader. The first thing I realised while the speeches were going on was that Haji was a gentleman who could stand in the assembly of Kerala and laugh at himself, that he did not take himself so seriously and that he had the ability to look at himself and laugh at himself so he certainly had the quality of humility," said Rahul Gandhi.
P. Seethi Haji's son, P. K. Basheer, was also present at the book launch event. Basheer, like his father, is a member of the Indian Union Muslim League party and an incumbent MLA from Kerala's Eranad Assembly constituency.
P. Seethi Haji was a member of the Kerala legislative assembly from the Kondotty Assembly constituency. He was also the state secretary of the Muslim League and the director of Chandrika newspaper.
Haji was well known for his sense of humour and his speeches. Rahul Gandhi also laid the foundation stone of Thiruvali Pain & Palliative Care Society building in Thiruvali, Malappuram.
Speaking on the occasion Rahul Gandhi said "The inauguration of Pain & Palliative Care Center in Thiruvali is reflective of the level of community participation in Kerala when it comes to healthcare & education. Kerala leads the way as far as palliative care is concerned."
The former Congress President who is also the MP from Wayanad also said that he felt Kerala was his home.
"The more I come to Kerala, the more I come to Wayanad, the more I feel this is my home. I enjoy coming here. I don't consider it as work but as coming back to my family and meeting my friends" Rahul Gandhi said. (ANI)
