Kolkata, Sep 16 (IANS) Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi Thursday said he respected Railway Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee but ‘we are not going to bow our head’.

Rahul Gandhi told a press conference here: ‘We have a partnership in the state and we are going to hold hands with Mamata Banerjee.’

He stated that Mamata Banerjee is ‘a senior leader and I respect her’, but ‘we are not going to bow our head’.

He said: ‘Bengalis understand very well the definition of respect.’

The Congress leader was on a three-day tour of West Bengal which ends Thursday.