Rahul Gandhi campaigns in Karnataka: Hits out at BJP over corruption

Hassan: Congress Vice President RahulGandhi on Wednesday lashed out at the BJP for its double-speak on corruption. “BJP talks loud about corruption in Parliament. But the rampant corruption in Karnataka, under its rule’ is not visible for them” said Rahul Gandhi.  "We have given you RTI to expose corruption," he claimed. "The BJP leaders talk about corruption. Yesterday in Parliament, they spoke about corruption. But they will not talk about Karnataka. They will not mention the corruption in Karnataka. They will not say a chief minister went to jail. They will not say Reddy brothers who they sold the entire state to... they talk about corruption," continued Rahul Gandhi.

Addressing a big Congress rally in Hasan ahead of the May 5 Assembly Elections, Rahul Gandhi sarcastically said the BJP has won the world cup of corruption. Striking an emotional chord with the people of the state, the Congress Vice President said “The state of Karnataka developed because of the hard-works put in by the poor, farmers and the labourers in the state. But today the development is not seen in the state due to the ignorance and misrule of the BJP government here”. He further charged that the BJP has mortgaged Karnataka's future to mafia.

“The money we have today belongs to the people of this country and it should reach back to the people. That is why Congress-led UPA Government at the Centre implemented policies like MNREGA and RTE” explained the Congress leader.

He said Karnataka had a lot of natural resources, among them huge iron ore reserve. "This wealth does not belong to one individual. It belongs to everybody in Karnataka. It belongs to the youth and old people of Karnataka.'

In an indirect dig at former BJP leader and ex-state CM BS Yeddyurappa, Rahul Gandhi urged the people to elect a chief minister who doesn't spend time in jail. He further noted that nobody was happy with the political system and there was a need to include youth and women in the system to bring in real change. “I request the youth and women in the state to join politics to transform the system” stated the young Congress leader”.

“BJP had promised a lot but did nothing” alleged the Congress MP and added “While Congress believes in inclusive growth, BJP follows a divisive agenda”.

“The responsibility of an MLA is to work for the people. There is no place for any MLA in the Congress party who does not work for the people” asserted Rahul Gandhi amidst loud applauds from the crowd.

Earlier, while addressing another Congress rally in Mandya, Rahul Gandhi said “There was a time when the state of Karnataka was shining in all fields. But the state has now lost its shine due to the misrule of the BJP”.

Rahul Gandhi urged the people to oust the present BJP regime in the state and to elect a pro-poor, pro-development, progressive Congress government to bring back the lost glory of Karnataka.

Rahul Gandhi: We should be careful in ticket distribution for elections

The newly appointed Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi sent a strong warning in his maiden speech after taking over the new post during the AICC session in Jaipur. Clearly it will disappoint the leaders from other parties who join Congress at election time in the hope of getting tickets.

Rahul Gandhi disapproved of granting tickets to such leaders who, he said, come to the party only to contest polls and fly out after getting defeated. "We have to change this," he told the AICC meeting in his first speech after becoming the Vice President. Amid repeated applause from party-men, Rahul Gandhi regretted that when the time of granting ticket in election comes, the grass-root worker is ignored and the ticket is given following instructions from top to someone who has arrived from some other party. He said that Congress worker should get respect and those party-men who contest as independent after denying tickets or put up independent candidates needed to be proceeded against.

Rahul Gandhi said that no other party has the capability and the depth like the Congress. He said that despite these shortcomings, Congress comes back to power because it represents "the DNA of India", a fact, which other parties representing a particular religion or caste, fail to understand.

Respect people with knowledge and understanding, Rahul Gandhi tells Congressmen

Newly appointed Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi said while speaking on the last day of the three-day AICC session in Jaipur that he would work to transform the country by decentralizing power. He also condemned elitism as "the tragedy of India" and vowed to work to expand access to power for ordinary people.

"For me, the Congress party is my life. The people of India are my life and I will fight for them," said Rahul Gandhi. Reflecting on his eight years while working for the party organization, Rahul Gandhi said country's governmental system was struck in the past and the answer lay in completely transforming it. "A handful of people control the entire political space" he said to cheering party workers. "It doesn't matter how much wisdom you have. If you don't have position, you have nothing. That's the tragedy of India," he said. Rahul Gandhi also said youths are angry because they have been excluded from the political class.

"We only empower people at the top of the system. We don't believe in empowering all the way to the bottom," said the Congress leader. He said change could be possible only if those in power started respecting and empowering people for their knowledge and skills. "All the public systems - administration, justice, education and political - are designed to keep people with knowledge out," he said. Such a system promotes mediocrity, he added.

Rahul Gandhi’s maiden speech after taking over the new party post was filled with emotions and determination and the Party has a great hope in this young leader and they expect that the party can reach new miles under his leadership.

Rahul Gandhi: Young and impatient India now demands a greater role in decision making

Rahul Gandhi, the newly-appointed Congress vice-president, said on Sunday in an impassioned speech outlining the need for the Congress to develop leadership and give prominence to grassroots workers that a complete transformation in the system is needed as young and impatient India now demands a greater role in decision making.

Rahul Gandhi in his first speech after taking over as the party vice president also asked the party to respect the youths' demands. "We don't need better systems, we need a complete transformation in the system, we need 40-50 leaders at the national level (anyone of whom can be prime minister) and seven to 10 at the state level (for chief minister)," Rahul Gandhi said.

"We should focus on creating leaders for the country," he said adding that "no other party has so much depth". But Rahul Gandhi also said there was no need to rush with change, which, he said, has to be backed by careful thought.

The Congress leader said his new responsibility was a big one and told party workers that he will treat all of them equally, will learn from their experiences but will only play a judge. "It is a big responsibility. I will work for everybody from today but I will play the judge and not the lawyer," he said. According to him, the time has come to question the "centralized, unaccountable system and decision making must shift from Delhi to the panchayats".

"Why do a handful of people control the entire political space," he asked, adding that "people with little understanding were sitting at high positions". Rahul Gandhi warned the youth was angry and feeling alienated with the existing system. "Until we start to respect and empower people, we cannot change anything in this country... all are closed systems, designed for mediocrity, mediocrity dominates," he said.

Hinting at things to come, he also said that action will be taken against party deserters who become rebels and fight as Independents. Noting that "one cannot achieve anything without hope," he said "we should not chase power, we should use power to empower people."

Rahul Gandhi struck an emotional chord when he related how his mother and the Congress president had cried when she met him Saturday night. "Last night, everyone congratulated me and hugged me. But last night, my mother came to my room and she sat near me and cried. Why did she cry.. she cried because she understands that the power that so many see is poison. She can see it because she is not attached to it (power)," he said

Rahul Gandhi stresses for the need to respect knowledge

In his first remarks as the newly elected vice president of the Congress party, Rahul Gandhi offered a searing critique of the nation’s poor governance setup. Rahul Gandhi said power in India is “grossly centralized,” with decisions made “by a handful of people behind closed doors who are not fully accountable.”

Too often, said the newly appointed Congress Vice President, state chief ministers and central government ministries make decisions that local officials should be making. “We only empower people at the top of the system,” Rahul Gandhi said. “We don’t believe in empowering people all the way to the bottom.” He also took aim at the leaders India taps, arguing that the best informed people aren’t always those who wind up in powerful positions.

“Every single day I meet people who have tremendous understanding, deep insight and no voice,” he said. “And then I meet people holding high positions with tremendous voice but no understanding for the issues at hand.” He added:  “We don’t respect knowledge. We respect position.”

 “All our public systems” he said, including administration, justice and education, “are designed to keep people with knowledge out. They are closed systems. They are designed to promote mediocrity”, continued the Congress leader. “The answer is not to run these systems better,” Mr. Gandhi said. “We have to rethink these systems and transform them completely,” he added.

Rahul Gandhi also took a dig at political double-speak mainly by the opponents and said, “People who are corrupt stand up and talk about eradicating corruption,” he said, “and then people who disrespect women everyday…talk about women’s rights.” “There is a young and impatient India and it is demanding a voice in the nation’s future,” he said.

Rahul Gandhi also listed some of the accomplishments of the Congress-led government, including the Right to Information Act that he said has empowered Indians to hold public officials accountable for corruption, and its flagship welfare initiative, the rural job guarantee program. Rahul said a planned food security bill “will ensure that no mother sees her child go hungry at night.”