Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Friday said that pursuing politics with integrity is an "unpleasant" and difficult path, urging young people to be prepared for hardship if they choose to enter public life for the right reasons.
Speaking during an interaction with students at Marian College Kuttikkanam (Autonomous) in Kuttikkanam, Kerala, he said politics becomes particularly challenging for those who attempt to follow a strong value system.
"If you want to be a politician, it's an unpleasant job. If you want to do it seriously and you have a certain value system, it's a very difficult job," he said, adding that those entering politics for the right reasons should be ready to face hardship and criticism.
"You have to be ready to suffer quite a lot and get beaten up and pushed around if you're doing it for the right reason," he told the students.
Gandhi contrasted two different paths in politics - one driven by personal gain and another motivated by values and public service.
"If you ask yourself, 'Am I doing it for myself? Am I doing it to benefit myself?' then you have one path. But if you say you are doing it to defend certain ideas or values, then the path is completely different," he said.
According to Gandhi, the path focused on values is far more demanding but also more meaningful. "One is an unpleasant, difficult path, but you learn a lot and you're actually quite useful. The other one is an easy path - maybe you'll have a big house and a lot of money," he remarked.
Reflecting on his own experience after entering politics, Gandhi said many people had told him that honesty was not possible in the political arena.
"In my experience, when I first joined politics, the general thing people would say is that in politics you cannot be honest," he said. "I refuse to believe that. I am testing the idea that honesty is possible in politics."
He added that he continues to explore how transparent a politician can be and where the limits lie. "How transparent can you be, and where are the limitations?" he said.