Panaji: Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi Tuesday said that he could not do much to change the politics of Goa, but exhorted students to enter the field and improve it.

Gandhi was responding to a question on the plummeting standards of politics and governance in Goa, during an hour-long interactive session with students at the Goa University (GU) campus Tuesday.

"I cannot change the politics in Goa. If you people can join politics here, then definitely you can. We want to involve youngsters into the organisation. That's how we can come up," the 39-year-old son of Congress president Sonia Gandhi said, adding that if youngsters did not want to join politics to change it, they should not complain about the state it is in.

The session was attended by nearly 1,500 students, most of whom were associated with the National Students Union of India (NSUI).

Speaking on criminalization of politics, Gandhi said that while he was against parties allowing criminals in their ranks, the unit in the Congress which he looked after had no criminals in them.

"I look after the Youth Congress and the NSUI. In my organisations there is no one with a criminal background... Those who were, we have shown them the door," Gandhi said.

Gandhi, who was in Goa on a half-day visit later met Youth Congress officials and the pradesh congress committee members.

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