Rahul Gandhi: I speak as an Indian
Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi speaks on the
confidence motion in the Parliament
Monday 22 July 2008 12:39:57 PM
It is important at this point not to speak as a Member of a political Party, but to speak as an Indian. Everybody in this House, regardless of which party he comes from speaks in the interest of the nation. We are meeting here because there is a serious problem in India and the problem is our energy security. Poverty is directly connected to energy security. Energy effects India's growth. If we do not secure our energy supply into the future, growth will stop and we will not be able to fight poverty.
The way our nuclear industry is positioned today, it is going to do neither. It is neither going to act as an insurance policy nor is it going to act or have the potential to act as a fundamental source of energy. And, the reason it is not going to do so is because the hands of our scientists, the hands of our establishment are tied; they are tied because they do not have fuel on one hand, and on the other hand they do not have investment and technology. Senior leaders have also established that the way forward is diversification and reliance on more than one source of energy, a balanced portfolio that includes nuclear, hydrocarbon, solar and wind among others. It is not enough to identify a problem and a potential solution. The magic of what Shri Manmohan Singhji is doing is that within the problem, he has identified an opportunity that is significantly larger than the problem itself. The opportunity our Prime Minister has identified is based on a simple fact. It is based on the fact that over the next 30-40 years, two countries are going to use the largest bulk of new energy that comes on line. These countries – China and India – have the ability to define the way the world's energy moves. Instead of looking at our energy problem as a problem, we start to look at our energy usage as an opportunity. Like a big buyer who goes to any market, we have the ability to shape the global energy industry, and energy is like no other industry in the world. Energy, as I said earlier, is used everywhere, in everything and in every aspect of economic and social life. Energy has destroyed nations and it has built nations. Instead of worrying about how the world will impact us, we start worrying about how we will impact the world.
Many years ago, this country embarked on a path which many people did not believe in. We developed an industry called, IT industry and the telecom industry. Very few people believed that the computer would have anything to do with empowering the poor and with changing the way this country worked. Yet, today all of us together see the impact of the computer. The decision here is not about three per cent energy or seven per cent energy. It is not about India's usage of nuclear energy. If we look at the big picture here, it is about whether India can become a global power in a type of energy that is going to be very important in the future. We all know the problems caused by hydrocarbons. We know about pollution. Earlier, one of he Members asked me to point out what is the connection between energy and poverty. We know the link between us depending on hydrocarbons and prices in India today. When we think about energy, when we think about nuclear energy, we must think about the poorest in the country. Contrary to what most people believed, when we thought about IT in this country, we were thinking about the poor in this country. It is something that is hard to cross because it is counterintuitive. But one must not underestimate the connections between industry, between energy and between the poor. It is important to realize that this country is brimming with confidence and brimming with self-belief. Another point we must never forget when we take decisions as leaders in this country is that we have to believe in that, in our people and we have to have confidence in what we are capable of doing. We have to have confidence in what they are doing. What matters is that we start working together and we together try to solve the problems of this country.
Amethi , July 16, 2008:
It is not often that Rahul Gandhi interacts with the media specially when he is touring his parliamentary constituency. A little restless and contemplative Gandhi scion decided to hold a press conference to back Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's "vision, tenacity and leadership" over the Indo -US nuclear deal this after noon. He went on to say the nuke deal was worth the risk of sacrificing the government, if it came to that.
Rahul's almost desperate statement spilled the beans that the Congress was not ruling out the fall of government when it faces trust vote in the Lok Sabha on July 22. Speculations are rife that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh might step down even before his government seeks trusts vote on the floor of the house.
Coming out fully in support of the deal Rahul on second thoughts expressed confidence that the government would secure the vote of confidence in the Lok Sabha . "The deal is being opposed for political reasons. But in political life, risks have to be taken. The leadership the prime minister is showing...He thinks it is in the interest of the country. If the government falls in the process so be it," he told reporters.
"When you are convinced that it is in the interest of the people of the country, numbers don't matter. This decision that the prime minister has taken, in my view, is the right decision ," he said. In a reference to Left parties, "they" have an ideological position but the Congress has decided it is good for the country.
"There are people in BJP and other parties who are 100 per cent for the deal. I don't understand why there are people opposing the deal. It is not only Rahul Gandhi but every young person in the country who is bound to support the deal because it is going to change the future face of the country," he said.
When it was pointed out that this had led Congress to align with Samajwadi Party, a party it had opposed earlier and the new alignment may hurt Congress in the long run, he said, " we have staked whatever we could."
"I remember during my childhood when my father was doing this (ushering in the computer and it revolution) people used to say it is completely ridiculous. Various arguments were given. Some said how do the farmers gain from it and today almost everyone has a computer. And some have it on their watches," he said.
Once again during his two-day tour Rahul had his dinner in a dalit's house, adding to the growing irrigation of the chief minister Mayawati.
Rahul's new youth Congress
Dinker Vashisht
Posted
online : Thursday, August 21, 2008
Chandigarh, August 20: Dancer, lawyer, ten pin bowling champion, cricketer, web designer — the selection made under Rahul Gandhi's talent hunt programme to choose the Congress's next line of leadership has brought to fore a whole lot of fresh and young politicians, hailing from a wide range of academic and professional backgrounds. Diversity apart, these young leaders, who were personally interviewed by the AICC general secretary in Delhi, have one thing in common — none of them has any political background or patronage.
Apparently, Rahul Gandhi had expressed his displeasure at the existing hero worship and lineage culture in the Congress and had ostensibly declined a ministerial berth in the Government to concentrate on improving the functioning of the youth wing of the party by selecting young leaders purely on merit.
Take the case of 26-year-old Manoj Kamble, a law graduate who was selected as National Students' Union of India (NSUI) leader from Pune. Talking to The Indian Express he said, “I am a Dalit. My father is an ordinary factory worker and I studied in a local college. In fact, I wasn't even expecting a call to appear for interviews in Delhi. But a couple of weeks after going through the entire procedure, Rahul Gandhi himself called me to say that I have been selected.”
Kamble feels that his work as a social activist in Pimpri-Chinchwad area, which is Asia's largest municipal corporation, impressed the AICC general secretary. “Our area has a number of underprivileged children who don't have access to education after primary-level. I, along with a couple of friends, organised proper training for these children so that they were able to pursue higher studies.”
Rahul Rao, a 27-year-old humanities student from Rewari, was selected as NSUI president of Haryana. Recollecting his experience he said, “The interviews used to take place either at Rahul Gandhi's residence at Tughlaq Road or at the AICC headquarters. It was an elaborate process. In the first round, Rahulji personally interacted with all the shortlisted candidates. Then there was a group discussion where we were questioned by a panel comprising Congress leaders Meenakshi Natarajan, Mukul Wasnik and Jagdish Tytler. Those shortlisted were called for an interview and a group discussion in the presence of Rahul Gandhi. I was lucky enough to get selected and was personally intimated by him.”
Rao feels that apart from his academic background, public speaking skills, integrity, extra-curricular activities and social skills led to his selection. “My father is a government official. No one in my family is in politics. The fact that I have represented Haryana in a bowling championship and C K Nayudu cricket tournament surely helped me get selected,” he added.
Deepinder Hooda, Congress MP from Rohtak and a member of the team that is assisting Rahul Gandhi in the selection process, said: “The basic qualities we look for are leadership, integrity, awareness, relevant work experience, some affiliation with the Congress, communication skills, and academics. But a special skill that will enable the individual to grow and also help the party is always welcome. For example, one of the candidates is a web designer. As far as communication skills are concerned, the thrust is not on fluency of language as much as it is on articulation and an ability to strike a rapport with the target audience the potential leader is seeking to represent.”
The talent search programme, which was initiated a few months ago, is progressing state by state. It involves selecting leaders for the NSUI and Youth Congress and specifies the maximum age limits as 27 and 37, respectively. Currently, selections are underway in Gujarat, Rajasthan and Mumbai. The selection process is stringent. For example, out of the 60 people who were initially shortlisted from Himachal Pradesh, only one was selected.
Manmohan Katoch, who was selected as Youth Congress president of Himachal Pradesh, said: “Earlier, people like me would have never got a chance to rise in politics. Regional politicians always promote their own family members. My father works as a clerk and I come from a small village in Kangra. I was a popular dancer and in college, I also honed my public speaking skills. Since I was popular, I was asked to organise a hunger strike to get a school built in my village. I was successful in getting a school for the village and this impressed the panel.”
Those selected were personally intimated by Rahul Gandhi and were apprised of their responsibilities for the next six months. There is a half-yearly review of performance and further setting of goals. Congress leaders associated with the programme include Sachin Pilot, Ashok Gehlot and Jitin Prasada.
