Rahul Gandhi with Rachna Fernandes, a patron of the South Goa restaurant (Pic credit: Instagram/ rachna_the_dentist_fernandes) | Photo Credit: Instagram

Panaji: After attending the Republic Day event in New Delhi on Saturday, Congress President Rahul Gandhi and his mother and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi were holidaying in Goa on a three-day “private visit.” The mother-son duo had reached the state in a special flight on Saturday and was staying at a five-star resort in South Goa, sources told news agency IANS.

On Sunday, the Gandhis stepped out for lunch and visited the popular Fisherman’s Wharf restaurant in South Goa, much to the surprise of the patrons at the restaurant. Rahul was seen dressed in a blue T-shirt and reportedly posed for selfies and photographs with the restaurant’s patrons yesterday, the news agency reported.

One of the patrons, Goa-based dentist Rachna Fernandes, who was having lunch with her relatives at the restaurant, told the news agency that Sonia and Rahul Gandhi had a quiet lunch with no security guards present. She said that when she approached Rahul to ask for a photograph, he promised to oblige after he settled the bill.

After making the payment, Rahul offered to get a photograph clicked with her, Fernandes told IANS. She later uploaded the picture on her Instagram account, in which Rahul can be seen posing with a relaxed smile.

"He is too nice to be in the bad, bad world of politics," Fernandes said while speaking to the news agency about her encounter with the Gandhis.

A Goa Congress spokesperson told IANS that the Gandhis were on a personal visit and had no official appointments or engagements scheduled during their stay in the state. Previously, Rahul and Sonia Gandhi had ringed in the New Year in 2017 in Goa.

