"Democracy has been flourishing in the country but no political party pays heed to the concept of internal democracy" and "frequent nomination to the important posts instead of democratic election is the testament of the fact", said Rahul Gandhi, MP and General Secretary of the Congress while interacting with the students at Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh.

Non-democratic structure of the political parties has prevented common man from joining the politics and it has to be changed, he added.

The destiny of the country is shaped by the youth hence they must fully participate in the political system of the country. Nobody knows how to enter politics as there is no well-defined procedure and path into politics has to be clear and transparent", Rahul Gandhi added.

Rahul Gandhi said no criminal and fundamentalist must be given opportunity in political parties. Describing AMU as the invaluable intellectual treasure of the country, Mr. Gandhi urged the students not to carried be away by any consideration other than the merit. The example of Dr. Manmohan Singh bears an eloquent testimony to the fact, he added.

Earlier, welcoming Mr. Rahul Gandhi, Professor P.K. Abdul Azis said that the Muslim community and the Aligarh Muslim University are extremely indebted to Pandit Nehru for the unstinted support that he has given to reposition it after India became independent. The Aligarh Muslim University still needs special patronage. The University has a Muslim Character right from its inception but it is truly secular. The recent order from the Allahabad High Court has taken a way the Minority Character of the University. An appeal for restoration of the Minority Character of the University is pending with the Supreme Court. Professor Azis urged Mr. Gandhi to take up the issue of the Minority Character of AMU with the Prime Minister of India and get the Minority Character of AMU restored unequivocally by an amendment to AMU Act of 1981 by the Indian Parliament.

The University has submitted a rupees two thousand crores proposal for establishing five centers across the country and for this massive expansion the Government of India should come forward with clear cut and time bound affirmative programmes to enable the Sachar Committee's recommendations to become more meaningful, he concluded.

At the end of the interactive meet, Rahul Gandhi answered various questions raised by the students of AMU relating to role of youths in building new India, the issue of reservation for Muslims in educational institutional, minority character for AMU and implementation of Sachar Committee. Earlier, Mr. Rahul Gandhi visited the mazar of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, the legendary founder of Aligarh Muslim University. Mr. Gandhi also visited the AMU Staff Club and interacted with the University teacher. Prof. V.K. Abdul Jaleel, Registrar, AMU extended a vote of thanks.