Staff Corrspondent

The black microbus carrying Rahul Gandhi pulled over on entering a village in Gazipur.

The India's ruling Congress Party stalwart got off, walked to a roadside teashop and asked for a cup of tea, puzzling the security men in his detail. He sipped the cup of tea, taking a fill of the greenery.

The Indian Lokshabha member and one of the general secretaries of the Congress, Rahul arrived in Dhaka on Friday on a five-day visit. On the first day, he visited BRAC-run microcredit projects, village organisational meetings of women, primary children's education, mass library, pregnant and women health care programme and adolescent centre.

After hectic seven hours since morning, he took his lunch at the BRAC "Centre for Development Management Training," in Gazipur.

Heavily secured, Rahul started by road from Mohakhali BRAC Inn Centre at 7:30am and first went to BRAC regional office at Gazipur. After staying there for some time, he started his day's programme.

Sporting a short-sleeved shirt, jeans and sneakers, he saw for himself the struggle of a few families to pull themselves out of poverty with BRAC microcredit in several villages in Gazipur.

In Targaon village he joined the meeting of women recipients and spoke with them. He also visited the dwelling houses of two microcredit recipients- Farhana and Rejina. One of them had a tin house, the other a mud house.

Farhana told Rahul that once she too had a mud house and that she built the tin house on microcredit. When Rahul went to the house of Farhana and Rejina it was drizzling. Rahul himself held an umbrella over his head and exchanged greetings with them. Farhana and Rejina were ecstatic finding the member of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty of India in their vicinity.

Rahul then visited a pre-primary school where he was welcomed by tiny tots with songs and dance. Rahul drew some children to him. Later, he also talked with their teachers. He also visited BRAC primary school at Raonat village.

He visited Rajendrapur High School Public Library, pregnant women's health care programme and activities of women's rights and legal aid programme run by BRAC adolescent centre.

Rahul returned to Dhaka in the afternoon. BRAC chief Fazle Hasan Abed is scheduled to have an exclusive meeting with him in the evening.

Rahul has been provided the highest security during the visit with Special Security Force (SSF), Police, RAB and intelligence agencies manning him. Indian Special Protection Group (SPG) is also in charge of his security.

Rahul, grandson of India's late prime minister Indira Gandhi, enjoys highest security, categorised as Z-plus. Rahul's father Rajiv Gandhi and Indira Gandhi were both assassinated.

Rahul was born in June 1970 in New Delhi. After completing his early education in Delhi he enrolled at Harvard University. But after his father was killed he switched to Rollins College, Florida and earned a bachelor's degree there.

Following his predecessors, Rahul entered politics in March 2004. He was elected an MP from their family constituency Amethi in Uttar Pradesh. Rahul was nominated a general secretary of All India Congress Committee in 2007. He was also given the charge of supervising the party's youth front "Youth Congress" and student front "National Students Union of India".

Rahul's programme Sunday includes visiting Grameen Bank projects at Manikganj. On Monday morning, he will visit Grameen Bank office at Mirpur before leaving Dhaka on Tuesday.

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