Rahul Gandhi reaches out to corporates,gets bigwigs like Ratan Tata,Kumar Mangalam Birla,Deepak Parekh to J-K

Earlier,Rahul’s support to tribals against bauxite mining in Orissa and his stance on land acquisition at Bhatta Parsaul in Uttar Pradesh had sent out confusing signals about his thinking on these contentious issues. The Srinagar interaction will give businessmen and corporate heads an opportunity to get a glimpse of what he thinks about steering the economy — of greater significance now that Rahul is expected to play a larger role.

Congress sources said when Rahul visited the Kashmir University campus in 2011,students had pointed out a disconnect between their aspirations and the industry’s requirements. “Rahulji invited these industrialists so that the prospective employers and aspiring students could share each other’s needs and priorities,” said a close aide.

In an indicator of the growing profile of the Indian Youth Congress (IYC) under Rahul’s patronage,a host of Congress chief ministers and some Union ministers are also flying down to Srinagar to address the IYC national executive.

While Maharashtra CM Prithviraj Chavan addressed the executive on Tuesday,his counterparts from Assam,Delhi and Haryana — Tarun Gogoi,Sheila Dikshit and Bhupinder Singh Hooda — are scheduled to do so on Thursday. The IYC was said to have chosen the issues on which the CMs will speak.

Chavan was said to have talked about the “ethics of governance” and the Congress’s equations with partner NCP in Maharashtra,while Hooda will speak on the advantages of FDI in retail. Gogoi is expected to brief YC delegates on the genesis of the recent violent clashes in the state.

Union Minister of Information & Broadcasting Ambika Soni will address the national executive on Thursday.