Akola, Oct 30 (Mumbai Mirror): Gandhi, 47, had recently said -in answer to a question -that he believed in destiny when it came to marriage."This is an old question. I believe in destiny. Jab hogi, tab hogi," he had said.On Sunday, Athawale, who heads the Republican Party of India (Athavale), an ally of the BJPled NDA, said he could help find a match for the Congress leader."Rahul Gandhi goes to houses of Dalit people occasionally and eats with them. I think he should marry a Dalit woman. If needed, I will help finding one for him," the minister of state for social justice said in Akola.

Athawale said he had no intention to insult Gandhi regarding his marriage plans. "I have no intention to insult him, but I'm proposing it to present a model before the country. I have personally married a Brahmin girl which is in the line with BR Ambedkar's solution to dismantle caste barriers. Uprooting casteism cannot be achieved only by eating together," the minister said.

Athawale said Gandhi had changed recently as far as his leadership calibre was concerned. "He is not a Pappu anymore. He looks confident and hopefully can be a good leader," the Dalit leader said, referring to the nickname with which Gandhi was often mocked by a section on social media.

Another NDA constituent, the Shiv Sena, had recently said that Gandhi had the capability to lead the country.