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Business News/ Politics / Policy/  Transcript of Rahul Gandhi’s speech at AICC session on Sunday
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Transcript of Rahul Gandhi’s speech at AICC session on Sunday

Rahul Gandhi addressed partymen for the first time after being appointed vice-president of the party

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi at (Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi at )Premium
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi at
(Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi at )

Congress president Sonia Gandhi ji, Pradhan Mantri Dr Manmohan Singh ji, members of the Congress Working Committee, PCC presidents and chief ministers of states and Rajasthan, AICC members, delegates of the Chintan Shivir, friends, I would like to welcome all of you here and thank you very much for all the support you have shown to me.

There are a lot of our workers who are not here today. I would also like to thank them for the work they do and for the blood and sweat they give to this party.

Before I begin, I would like to state that this is a huge honour for me. Over the last 8 years, this party has taught me a tremendous amount. I have learnt from the senior leaders and the youngsters of this party and I want to thank all of you from the bottom of my heart for all the help and direction you have given me.

There are people in south India who would like me to speak in English and there are people in North India and as is the tradition, I will speak in English and then I will speak in Hindi.

In 1947 India was liberated not by arms but by unleashing the voice of our people, other countries fought violently, other countries fought with weapons, other countries fought with death, India fought with non-violence and with voice.

Everybody told us that it can be done; everybody told us that if you want to get rid of British you have to use violence and the Congress party said no we are not going to use violence and we defeated the biggest empire of its time and we send them home. This was energy behind of freedom movement voices million and millions of our voices.

Gandhi ji success us led by Jawaharlal Nehru feed the voice of every Indian by ensuring the democracy became the better of our constitution. Relentlessly championing the voice of every Indian will always be the essence of the Congress party and not a Indian one caste or one religion I would like to repeated every single Indian is going to be supported.

No matter who he is, if he is Indian we work for him. Let’s look at the last 60 years of India’s successes. They have all come when we gave up the people voice. The Green revolution, to restore the voice of the farmer, bank nationalisation to restore the voice of the poor and the market for credit. The IT and telecom revolutions literally gave the people voice, millions of people’s voice and if you have a cellphone in your pocket today it is result of that revolution.

And it’s an honour that Manmohan Singh ji is sitting here because he spearheaded another revolution in 1991, he unleash the voice of thousands in the field of entrepreneurship and change the country forever. The UPA government is followed Gandhiji’s model. It is created the platforms for those denied their voice in the political system, for the first time in our history our people is being guaranteed their basic rights, social and economic heads. The Food Bill will ensure that true mother sees her child go hungry at night, the RTI allows every single Indian to personally take on the battle against corruption. MGNREGA is given millions of Indians pride in their work, right to education enables every child to aspire to greatness. All of these radical innovations were possible only because of the growth provided by the Congress party and the UPA. But there are many challenges ahead. The voices of the billion Indians are today that they want to greater say in government, in politics and in administration.

This can’t be decided by hand full of people behind closed doors who are not fully accountable to them. They are telling us that India’s governmental system is stuck in the past it is become a system that robs people of their voice, a system that dis-empowers instead of empowering. But why we are in this situation, why is it I ask you, that our ministries do the work of Panchayats. Why is it the Supreme Court handles the load of lower houses of justice? Why is it that the CMs need to appoint a teacher? Why is it that a VCs chosen by people who far removed from their education systems? No matter what state you look at, No matter which political party you look at why do a handful of people control the entire political space?

Power is grossly centralized in our country we only empower people at the top of a system. We don’t believe in empowering people all the way to bottom. Every single day I meet people who has tremendous understanding deep insight and no voice and all of us meet them, they are very where. But almost always they are kept outside ours systems, no one can their voice, no matter how much they try to speak no one listens. And then I meet people holding high positions with tremendous voice but no understanding for the issues at hand. Why this happens is because we don’t respect knowledge.

And it does not matter how much wisdom you have.. you mean nothing.. This is the tragedy of India.. Why is our youth angry.. why are they out on the street.. They are angry because they are alienated… They are excluded from the political class. They watch from the sidelines.. as the powerful drive around in their lal battis… Why are the women suffering.. because their voice is being trampled upon by people who have arbitrary powers over their lives. Why are the poor confined to powerlessness and poverty.. because decision the decision over their lives.. and the services they need… are decided by people far away, answerable to them only in theory.. until we start to respect and empower people for knowledge and understand, we cant change anything in this country… All our public systems, administration.. justice… education.. political systems.. all of them… are designed to keep people with knowledge out.. They are all closed systems.. They are designed to promote mediocrity… and mediocrity dominates.. mediocrity dominates discussion while the voice of insight and thought are crushed by loudness of those who have neither the understanding nor compassion.. success in these systems does not come through building… it comes by excluding.. it comes not by pushing people forward… but by holding people back…

To maintain the status quo. We do not praise our colleagues or look at their strength and all of us every single of one us does it. We won’t praise other people. We ask them bhaiya what is your weakness. We only look out the way to neutralize them and every single day all of us a face with the hypocrisy of the system. We all see it and then we pretend it is not there. People who are corrupt stand up and talk about eradicating corruption… and then people who disrespect women every day over day of their life… talk about women rights. Until we start to respect the empowered people for their knowledge, for their understanding we are never going to change this country. We need the aam admi to participate in our politics . Even when as I speak their future is decided in the disclosed room. There is an young and impatient India and it is demanding the voice in the nation future. Let me tell you they are not going to watch silently. Our priorities are clear. The time has come to question the centralized on responsive and on accountable system, decision making and governance, administration and politics. The answer not to people say we need to run the system better.. The answer is not in running this system better.

We have to re-look at things in system and we have to transform them completely… yet I am optimistic, I am not pessimistic, and I am going to tell you why I am optimistic I am optimistic because we have already put the building blocks of the revolution in place, and to a big degree I would like to thank the Congress president, the Prime Minister and the Congress party for putting these building blocks in place. Let me tell you what these building blocks are, first of all India is more connected today than it is ever being, we have the networks of roads, information, communication, people and media for new idea to immerge for them to develop and take flight. It is no longer possible to limit an idea whose time has come. Aadhaar, let me speak about Aaadhar, it gives us unprecedented mechanism to recognize the unique journey of aspiration of every single India no matter where he is. Direct cash transfer, is going to allow us to respond to these dreams with an empowering delivering system. My father use to speak about 15 paisa to the rupee reaching the people and we today are preparing the system that is going to answer that question, we are going to answer that question and 99% of people need money can go to them, it is a revolution, it is a revolution and no other country has done it and we are preparing that revolution

Congress is giving the people they due is now called it bribing the country , they say that because they scared , they understand what Aadhaar can do.. they understand what cash transfers can do.. and most importantly they understand what people in the Congress party , what the thinking in the Congress party can do.. Panchayati Raj and women self have improvement , they given the platform for democracy the balance of national decisions…..must shift away to Delhi and the state capitals to the Panchayat and to the world and Congress party must continued to way to eventual battle to overcome social presidium and discrimination against women, dalit , minorities and tribes I am optimistic because of the buildings block ….. but am most optimistic and excited because I see the energy, the passion and capability in our youth , bringing to respond to their urgent demand for jobs now, our institutions , learning and training must first informed us to repairing youth in scales for best jobs in scale for the best job in the world , equally decisions that matter to creating jobs need to be further liberated irrational red tape and outdated laws. So that the tremendous energy of India youth will be fully unleashed अब में थोडा हिंदी में संगठन के बारे में बोलना चाहता हूँ अपने मुझे ये बहुत बड़ी ज़िम्मेदारी दी है.. और ये पार्टी कहलाती है पर सचमुच में यह एक हम परिवार है इस बात को आप मानते है यह हिंदुस्तान का शायद दुनिया का सबसे बड़ा परिवार है और इसमे में हिंदुस्तान में सब लोग अन्दर आ सकते है आप को क्या लगता है बदलाव की जरुरत है ......तेज़ी से बदलाव की जरुरत है मगर सोच समझ के बदलाव की जरुरत है और सबको एक साथ लेकर बदलाव की बात करनी है और बदलाव लाना है प्यार से करना है सोच समझकर करना है और आपकी आवाज़ को सुनकर करना है समझ कर करना है में पहले यूथ कांग्रेस का जनरल सेक्रेटेरी हुआ करता था ,एन एस यु आई का जनरल सेक्रेटेरी हुआ करता था अब में कांग्रेस पार्टी में vice प्रेजिडेंट हूँ आपको यह लगना नहीं चाहिए की राहुल गाँधी युवाओ की बात करता है राहुल गाँधी का परिवार यूथ कांग्रेस , एन एस यु आई , कांग्रेस पार्टी ,महिला कांग्रेस सबके सब है और आज से राहुल गाँधी सबके लिए काम करेगा और सबको .......कांग्रेस पार्टी राहुल गाँधी और सबको में आपको वायदा करना चाहता हूँ ...सुनिए सुनिए और में आपसे वायदा करता हूँ..

एक ही आंख से एक ही तरीके से देखूंगा... चाहे वो यूथ कांग्रस का हो चाहे वो बुजुर्ग हो, चाहे unexperience हो, experienced हो, महिला हो जो भी हो जो आप कहेंगे मै से सुनूंगा और समझने की कोशिश करूंगा राजहनीति में मैं 8 9 साल से हूं और मैं एक बात समझा हूं काम करना है सोच समझ कर करना है गहराई से करना है और जल्दी से नही करना है बदलाव हो तो लम्बे तौर पर हो ऐर गहराई से हो एक दो चीजें मैं आप से कहना चाहता हूं.. बदलाव की बात आपने कही.. नीयम और कानून की बात मैं कहना चाहता हूं.. कांग्रस पार्टी एक ऐसा संगठन है दुनियां का सबसे बड़ा राजनीतिक संगठन है मगर इसमें नियम और कानून नही चलते हैं... शायद एक भी नियम और कानून इस पार्टी में नहीं है हम हर दो मिनट नये नियम बनाते हैं पुराने नियम दबा देते हैं और यहां शायद किसी को भी नहीं मालूम कांग्रस पार्टी के नियम किया है। मज़ेदार संगठन है कभी कभी पूछता हूं मैं अपना आप से कि भैया ये चलता कैसे है ये election कैसे जीतता है.. ये बाकी पार्टीयों का खत्म कैसे कर देता है... समझ नही आती है बात मगर election के बाद धड़ाक से कांग्रेस पार्टी जीत गई.. वर्कर खड़ा हो गया नेता खड़े हो गए... शीला जी मुझे कह रही थी कि भैया पता नही क्या होता है कि election के पहले सब खड़े हो जाते हैं और धड़ाके से लड़ जाते हैं.........

इसमें हिन्दुस्तान का DNA भरा है। और जो हमारे विपक्षी दल हैं वो समझतें नहीं हैं इस बात को। वो देखतें हैं और कहतें हैं कि ये हो क्या रहा है। कोई कहता है कि हम किसी एक जात की पार्टी है.. कोई कहता की मैं किसी एक धर्म की पार्टी हूं.. और कांग्रेस पार्टी कहती है कि हमारी DNA तो हिन्दुस्तान की है। हम न जात पहचानतें हैं..न धर्म पहचानतें हैं.. हम सिर्फ हिन्दुस्तान की DNA पहचानतें हैं.. सबके सब है।

तो नीयम और कानून की जरुरत है.. पहली बात.. दूसरी बात.. हम leadership development पर focus नहीं करते। आज से 5-6 साल बात ऐसी बात होनी चाहिए कि अगर किसी state में हमें chief minister की जरुरत हो.. तो जैसे पहले photo हुआ करती थी.. 40 फोटो हुआ करती थी कांग्रेस पार्टी की... नहरु जी.. पटेल.. आजाद.. giants हुआ करते थे.. उनमे से कोई भी देश का प्रधान मंत्री बन सकता था.. ये बात हमने करनी है.. हमें 40-50 नेता तैयार करने हैं.. जो देश को चला सकें.. सिर्फ प्रदेश को नहीं.. देश को चला सकें.. 40-50 नेता ऐसे तैयार करने हैं हर प्रदेश में.. हमारे पास 5-6-7-10 ऐसे नेता हों जो chief minister बन सकें। और हर district में ये बात हो.. हर block में यह बात हो.. और अगर हमसे कोई पूछे की कांग्रेस पार्टी क्या करती है.. कांग्रेस पार्टी हिन्दुस्तान के भविष्य के लिए नेता तैयार करती है.. कांग्रेस पार्टी सेक्यूलर नेता, ऐसे नेता जो गहराई से हिन्दुस्तान को समझते हैं, जो जनता से जुड़े हुए हैं वैसे नेता तैयार करती है। ऐसे नेता तैयार करती है, जिनको हिन्दुस्तान के सब लोग देख कर कहते हैं भईया हम इनके पीछे खड़ा होना चाहते हैं। तो लीडरशिप डेवलपमेंट की जरुरत है और इसके लिये ढांचे की जरुरत है सिस्टम की जरुरत है इंफार्मेशन की जरुरत है क्योंकि यहां पे जो नहीं होता है, इसलिये नहीं होता है कि कोई चाहता नहीं है, इसलिये नहीं होता है कि कोई सिस्टम नहीं है और सिस्टम बनाया जा सकता है और इस सिस्टम को आप लोग बनाओगे और आप लोग चलाओगे। हम टिकट की बात करते हैं, जमीन पे हमारा कार्यकर्ता काम करता है यहां हमारे डिस्ट्रिक्ट प्रेसिडेंट बैठे हैं, ब्लॉक प्रेसिडेंट्स हैं ब्लॉक कमेटीज हैं डिस्ट्रिक्ट कमेटीज हैं उनसे पूछा नहीं जाता, हैं यहां डिस्ट्रिक्ट प्रेसिडेंट? हैं। टिकट के समय उनसे नहीं पूछा जाता, संगठन से नहीं पूछा जाता, ऊपर से डिसीजन लिया जाता है भईया इसको टिकट मिलना चाहिए, होता क्या है दूसरे दलों के लोग आ जाते हैं चुनाव के पहले आ जाते हैं, नहीं सुनो, सुनो। आ जाते हैं, चुनाव हार जाते हैं और फिर चले जाते हैं और हमारा कार्यकर्ता कहता है भईया, वो ऊपर देखता है चुनाव से पहले ऊपर देखता है, ऊपर से पैराशूट गिरता है धड़ाक! नेता आता है, दूसरी पार्टी से आता है चुनाव लड़ता है फिर हवाई जहाज में उड़ के चला जाता है।

सबसे पहले कांग्रेस पार्टी के कार्यकर्ता की इज्जत होनी चाहिए और सिर्फ कार्यकर्ता की इज्जत नहीं, नेताओं की इज्जत, नेताओं की इज्जत का मतलब क्या है? कि अगर नेता ने अच्छा काम किया है, अगर नेता जनता के लिये काम कर रहा है चाहे वह जूनियर नेता हो या सीनियर नेता हो, जितना भी छोटा हो, जितना भी बड़ा हो अगर वो काम कर रहा है तो उसे आगे बढ़ाना चाहिए, अगर वो काम नहीं कर रहा है तो उसको कहना चाहिए भईया आप काम नहीं कर रहे हो और अगर 2-3 बार कहने के बाद काम नहीं किया तो फिर दूसरे को चांस देना चाहिए। और अंत में जो हमारे ही लोग हमारे खिलाफ खड़े हो जाते हैं चुनाव के समय इंडिपेंडेंट खड़े हो जाते हैं जो इंडिपेंडेंट को खड़ा कर देते हैं उनके खिलाफ एक्शन लेने की जरुरत है। आप सब ये चीजें जानते हैं मैं भी जानता हूं सब लोग जानते हैं कमी इंप्लिमेंटेशन में है और हम इंप्लिमेंटेशन अगर मिल के करेंगे, यहां पे ज्ञान है, जानकारी है हम ये काम कर सकते हैं और जिस दिन हमने ये काम कर दिया, हमारे सामने कोई नहीं खड़ा रह पायेगा। जिस दिन जनता की आवाज कांग्रेस पार्टी के अंदर गूंजने लगी, आज गूंजती है बाकियों से ज्यादा गूंजती है, मगर जिस दिन गहराई से गूंजने लेगेगी, जिस दिन पंचायत, वार्ड के लोग यहां आ के बैठ जायें उस दिन हमें कोई नहीं हरा पायेगा, और होगा क्या कि जो आज हमारे अंदर कभी-कभी गुस्सा आता है दुःख होता है, फ्रस्टेशन आती है वो कम हो जायेगा, मुस्कुराहटें आ जायेंगी, लोग कहेंगे भईया मजा आ रहा है विपक्षी पार्टियों को हराते हैं मजे से लड़ेंगे, मजे से जीतेंगे।

मैं पिछले 8 साल से ये काम कर रहा हूँ और मैंने आपसे कहा की अपने मुझे सिखाया है, senior नेता बैठे है कल मैंने ओला जी का भाषण सुना कितनी गहरी बात बोली उन्होंने और युवा भी थे उन्होंने ने भी गहरी बात बोली, Chidambaram जी थे और उन्होंने ने भी गहरी बात बोली, Antony जी थे उन्होंने ने गहरी बात बोली। यहाँ पे capability की कोई कमी नहीं है, गहराए की कोई कमी नहीं है और जिस प्रकार ये party सोचती है जितनी depth इस पार्टी में है और कही नहीं है। Parliament में देखता है सब जगह देखता है और मैं आपको ये बताना चाहता हूँ की मैं सब कुछ नहीं जनता हूँ, दुनिया मैं ऐसा कोई व्यक्ति नहीं जो सब कुछ जनता हो। मगर अगर आपसे पूछा Congress party मैं करोडों लोग हैं कही न कही जानकारी ज़रूर हैं, मैं आपसे ये कहना चाहता हूँ की मैं उस जानकारी को ढूंढूंगा। senior नेताओ से पूछूंगा, Sheila जी यहाँ बैठी, Gehlot जी बैठे है, Alvi जी बैठे है,बहुत सरे जिनके नाम नहीं ले सकता हूँ उन सब से पूछूंगा और आपसे सीखूंगा क्युकी इस party का इतिहास आपके अन्दर है, इस party की सोच आपके अन्दर है और मैं सिर्फ आपकी आवाज़ को आगे बढ़ाऊंगा , जो सुनायी देंगा उससे आगे बढ़ाऊंगा और fairness की बात होती है, कल मैंने meeting मैं कहा की कचेरी में दो लोग होते है एक lawyer होता है दूसरा judge होता है, मैं judge का काम करूँगा lawyer का काम नहीं करूँगा। अब मैं वापस थोडा अंग्रेजी मैं बोलना चाहता हूँ क्यूंकी south India के लोग कह रहे होंगे..तमिल तो मैं बोल नहीं सकता। तो थोडा मैं आपको अब इमोशनल बात कहना चाहता हूँ दिल की बात कहना चाहता हूँ।

This morning I got up at night, 4 O’clock in the morning I got out into the balcony I thought “Now you have a big responsibility in front of you and this people are standing behind you, people are standing on your side." It was dark and it was cold and I had decided I am not going to tell you only what you wanted to hear, I decided I goanna tell you little bit about what I feel, I want tell you about hope, and also want to tell you about power.

When I was a little boy I loved to play badminton. I loved it because it gives me balance in a complicated world. I was taught how to play in my grandmother’s house by two police men who protected my grandmother. They were my friends, then one day they killed my grandmother and took way the balance in my life. I felt pain that I never felt before and many of us have experienced this so you will understand what I am saying.

My father was in Bengal and he came back the hospital was dark green and dirty. And there was a huge crowd screaming outside they were very angry and as we entered they were screaming and shouting. It was the first time in my life that I saw my father was crying, he was the bravest person I knew and yet I saw him crying.

I was small but I could see my father was broken, he had taken away his mother and he was broken. In those days our country wasn’t what it is today. In the eyes of the world we had nothing. We were worthless. We didn’t have money, we didn’t have cars, everybody said were a poor country. Nobody thought about us. Same evening I was my father addressing the nation on television. I knew like me he was broken inside and even like me he was terrified of what lay in front of him but when he spoke that night I felt the small glimmer of hope. It was like a small ray of light in a dark sky. I can still remember what it felt like. If you think back lot of you will also remember this. The next day I realized that many people had seen it. Today as I look back and I has a political career of 8 years in 42 years I can see it was a small ray of hope in the darkness that helped changed India into what I is today. Without hope you can not achieve anything. You can have plans, you can have ideas, but unless you have hope you can not change anything. I want to talk to you about power.

Last night every single one of you congratulated me, many of you came and hugged me and congratulated me. Everybody congratulated me but last night my mother came to my room and she cried, why did she cried? she cried because she understand that the power so many people seek its actually a poison she can see it , what it does to a people around and to the people they love but the most important that she can see it, she not attached to it, the only anti poked to this poison is for all of us to see it for what it is really is and not become attached to it, we should not chased power for attribute to some power, we should only use it to empower voices. In our work it is my mother experience for the life time it is my experience for 8 years and am sure many of you to deal with power every day, understand what I am saying and realize the positive and the negative, and we must not forget that there is negative, that you have to be very careful when you doing administer power, when you use power, today India is not like what it was in 1984.

We are no longer seen as worthless.

Today the entire world is courting us.. Today we are the future.. and as I said before nations are not build on scheme and plans. They are raised on a foundation of hope. I am standing here because I believe that Congress party is the symbol of this hope and has the potential to embody it. I like to end again by saying that for me the Congress party is now my life. The people of India my life and I will fight for the people of India and for this party. I will fight with everything I have and I invite all of you to stand up and take on this fight.

Thank you

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Published: 20 Jan 2013, 07:30 PM IST
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