I appreciate women's attention but I am on a mission: Rahul Gandhi

Bangalore, (IANS) Youth Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was caught off guard last Saturday when a woman scribe asked him how "comfortable" he was being the cynosure of young women and being called prince charming. Blushing over the personal question, the 37-year-old bachelor politician told reporters he appreciated that women find him charming and that he was getting used to the special attention his presence drew at public gatherings.

"What can I say? I appreciate the attention women pay to me and the fact that I am charming. I am humbled by their observation. But I don't get carried away. As I am on a mission, I stay focused. I am not aware how people view me," Gandhi said shyly at a crowded press conference, held on the last day of his five-day whirlwind tour of Karnataka.

Asked how long he would remain the most eligible bachelor in India though he was getting on in years, Gandhi said since marriage was a personal matter, he would not like to respond in public. When persisted, he said he would inform the media the moment he decides to tie the knot.

"Since it is a personal question, I would rather respond in private. I will, however, disclose when I decide," Gandhi quipped. In another context, Gandhi admitted he did not understand poverty as he was not from a poor family and did not face poverty.

"I am not a poor person. So I will not understand it the way the poor do. It would be arrogant on my part to think I understand it. At the same time, I am sensitive to poverty. To understand it, you've to face poverty. On the advantage of being a Gandhi and belonging to a renowned political family, he said it would have been difficult for him to have entered politics and stay there had his family not been in politics, and that too, over the last four generations.

"It is not only in politics, but in any other stream, there is an advantage of being in such a family and benefiting from its legacy. We see this in any occupation. Be it politics, business, arts, sports or other fields,” Gandhi said.