GUWAHATI, Nov 25 - Terming Tarun Gogoi as his �guru�, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi today said that the demise of the former Chief Minister is a �personal loss� for him. Gandhi today made a short visit to the city to pay his last respect to the departed leader. Gandhi arrived here this morning from Goa in a special flight. After landing at the Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International (LGBI) Airport, he straightaway went to the Srimanta Sankaradeva Kalakshetra, where Gogoi�s mortal remains have been kept for the public to pay their last respect.
After reaching the Kalakshetra, the former Congress party president paid floral tributes to the mortal remains of the three-time Chief Minister in the presence of Gogoi�s son and Deputy Leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi. After praying with folded hands for the departed soul, Gandhi went up to the front side of the coffin to get a last close glimpse of the departed leader. He also lighted incense in front of a portrait of Tarun Gogoi.
�I have spent many years with Gogoiji and he was my teacher and my guru. He explained to me what Assam is and what the people of Assam are, the complexities of this State, the beauties of this State. Gaurav is his son. But he treated me in a similar way... there is a personal loss for me as well,� Gandhi said addressing the media.
�Gogoiji was not just a leader of Assam. He was a formidable Chief Minister and he was a national leader. He inspired us by bringing the people of Assam together and by bringing peace to this State. He did a great service for Assam and he did a tremendous service for India,� he added.
Gandhi said that whenever he visited Assam previously he used to travel in the same vehicle with Gogoi.
�And he (Gogoi) never used to speak about himself for even one minute. At all times he used to speak about Assam, and the people of Assam and about his views of Assam. I used to feel that when you are talking with Gogoiji, then you are not speaking with one individual but with the whole of Assam,� said Gandhi.
It is noteworthy that Tarun Gogoi was a member of the Congress party for over five decades. He was considered very close to the Nehru-Gandhi family, from the time of Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi to Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.
Besides being a three-time Chief Minister, Gogoi also got elected six times to the Lok Sabha and five times to the Assam Legislative Assembly as a Congress member.
Gogoi had served twice as president of the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC). He had also graced the positions of general secretary and joint secretary of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) during the 1970s and early 1980s.
�I got to learn a lot from him (Gogoi). The first time when I visited Assam many years ago I roamed around. When one is young, a person tends to believe that he has got a grasp of everything. In a way you could term it as arrogance. Then I sat down with Gogoiji. And within a short time span of five minutes Gogoiji taught me humility. I realized then that even if I try my whole life I will not be able to learn as much about Assam as he knew,� Gandhi said.
�Whenever I used to sit down together with him, his experience used to dazzle. I should not say it aloud but this (Assam) is a very complicated State. It has different languages, different ideologies and it is not easy to hold them together. But he did that successfully,� he added.
Asked if taking the Congress party forward in Assam will be a challenge in the absence of Tarun Gogoi, Gandhi said, �There will be no challenge. The �guru� (Gogoi) has imparted the necessary training to his disciples. He has given the necessary lessons to the Assam Congress and Assam Congress will stand up to his expectations. But the task would have been easier if he was around with us.�
Gandhi said that he last spoke with Gogoi before the veteran leader became ill. �I was not able to talk with him during his period of illness because by then his condition was not so good. But I was in constant touch with Gaurav,� he said.
The former Congress president later spent some time alone with Gaurav Gogoi at the Kalakshetra. Afterwards, Gandhi went to Gogoi�s official residence at the Ministers� Colony in Dispur.
Gandhi met Gogoi�s wife Dolly Gogoi and daughter Chandrima and offered his condolences. He spent about 30 minutes with them before leaving for the LGBI airport. Gandhi departed from Guwahati by the special flight.
AICC general secretary KC Venugopal accompanied Gandhi during the short visit to Guwahati.
