Kottayam (Kerala) | Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday expressed appreciation for nurses and Kerala expats in the Gulf region.

In his election rally in Athirampuzha here, Gandhi said his mother Sonia Gandhi is in the hospital.

“I am feeling comfortable here because Kerala nurses are looking after my mother there. They are kind, they are compassionate, they are gentle. That is why I am comfortable here,” he said.

He said otherwise, he would be wondering whether his mother is well.

“So who is making me comfortable? Women of Kerala. They are looking after me while I am speaking. So can I not protect the women of Kerala?” he asked.

He said nurses from Kerala are widely recognised worldwide for their compassionate and gentle attitude.

Gandhi also had good words for Kerala expatriates in the Gulf.

“You go to West Asia and see the magic of people from Kerala there. People of Dubai have not made Dubai, people of Kerala have built Dubai. It’s simple,” he said.

He said the people of Kerala built Dubai because of their character, their ideas and the way they treat people.

He said as he has been the MP of Wayanad for five years, he learnt these qualities from Kerala.