RAHUL GANDHI HAS STRENGTHENED HIS PARTY IN THE LAST ONE YEAR, AND HAS RELENTLESSLY CAMPAIGNED IN EVERY STATE AND THE RESULTS ARE SHOWING
Ever since he has joined mainstream Indian Politics, Rahul Gandhi has always been the strongest opponent to the ruling party. Over the years, he has lent his voice to a number of issues but has always remained focused on propagating non-violence, equality and justice. He was seen spending his days in rural villages with the farmers in their farms and houses. He believes that a solution of any problem can be achieved if it is addressed at the ground level.
Born on June 19, 1970, Rahul Gandhi spent his early childhood between Delhi, the political center of India, and Dehradun. He studied at St. Stephen’s College in Delhi before moving to Harvard University in the USA. Later, Rahul was transferred to Rollins College in Florida due to security threats following his father’s, the late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s, assassination.
He is now the mainstay of Indian Politics ever since he has imbibed the history and virtues of Indian politics and has developed a keen understanding of the Indian social fabric. In 2004 Rahul Gandhi entered politics and chose to stand from his father’s constituency and continue the legacy of serving the people of Amethi in Uttar Pradesh. He won his first election with an overwhelming margin of 100,000 votes over his opponents — a testament to the faith placed by the people of his constituency in him. Rahul has always believed that the nation’s future lies with her people. In a decade-long political career, it has been observed that Rahul has held true to the very principles that won him the hearts of the people in his very first election.
In 2013, Rahul Gandhi was elected as the VicePresident of the Congress Party where he played the key role of channeling the party along the lines of Congress’ core principles. Rahul has recently come of age as a leader after the party’s victory in three assembly elections in the Hindi heartland, speaks a lot about how he has reconfigured his political programme and tactics to put democracy at their centre. This result will strengthen Rahul’s position within the party and also help him emerge as a centre point of opposition unity. His pivotal role in shaping the party along Congress’ core values over his political career earned him the post of President of the Congress Party in 2017.
The word “leadership” brings to mind a variety of images. Other than focussing on strengthening his party in last one year, Rahul has created several new departments right from farmers wing to unorganised labour wing to NRI wing. Moreover focussing on the rural agenda, Rahul Gandhi has relentlessly campaigned in all the election visiting every state and keeping his pitch simple. Recently during an interaction at an event organized by Indian Journalists Association in London, the Congress chief was asked if he views himself as the next Prime Minister, to which he responded, “I don't have these visions. I view myself as fighting an ideological battle and this change has come in me after 2014”. He tirelessly worked to democratise the student wing and youth wing of the Congress party and also ensured that young leaders take up leadership positions in the grand old party. Though Rahul Gandhi has been criticised more often than not, he has maintained to encourage the youth in politics after he has sensed the revolution across the nation from the past four years of growing intolerance, hate and violence in the country. His approach to connect with people by putting himself in their shoes is quite effective and contradictory to his own Congress party. Truly under Rahul Gandhi’s guidance, the Congress Party has once again emerged as the voice of the nation. A fourth-generation scion of the politically powerful Nehru–Gandhi family, 42-year-old Rahul Gandhi is surely the face of ‘New India’.
On a two-day visit to Germany, Congress president Rahul Gandhi claimed that while his party binds the people of India. Addressing the Indian community at a function organised by the Indian Overseas Congress in Berlin, Mr Gandhi claimed that the Congress' thought of “unity in diversity” came from the times of Guru Nanak Dev and thanked the members of the Indian community living in Germany, many of whom are from Punjab, for supporting the Congress and helping the party form government in the state. He assured them it was their government in Punjab and his doors were open to them in case they needed something. "When we needed you, you stood with us and helped us form our government in Punjab. A friend in need is a friend indeed and you have been true friends,” he told the gathering. Mr Gandhi also cited the "langar" concept in Sikhism, which follows the philosophy that no one should go hungry, no matter how weak or poor.
“The work Guru Nanak used to do, we work on the same philosophy. I thought, you are saying this today, we have been speaking of unity in diversity from the times of Guru Nanak. Our strength is listening to everyone, even the weakest, the poorest person. Every Indian religion talks about helping the last man in the line” he said. “The Congress belongs to all, works for everyone and our work is to spread the thought of unity in diversity. Today, the government in India is working differently,” he claimed. “Our job is to bring the people together and take the country forward and we have shown how to do it”, he added.
The Congress chief was accompanied by party leaders, including Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh's wife Preneet Kaur, who has been an MP and a Union minister in the past.
Highlights: Congress president Rahul Gandhi addresses students at the London School of Economics (LSE).
RG when asked on corruption: ‘RTI is being weakened, destroyed’
Rahul Gandhi says the single instrument against corruption is RTI — it is the arrow that goes right into the heart of the bureaucratic machinery. Unfortunately, it is being weakened and destroyed. The other two instruments are Lokpal and a decentralisation system, the idea of a Panchayati Raj.
Rahul Gandhi speaks about empowering youth at London School of Economics (LSE)
“The political system empowers youngsters. But there simply isn't enough talented, capable youngsters in the system.” On transparency and political funding, he said, “The more transparency, the better.”
On dynastic politics: ‘I am elected’
On dynastic politics, Gandhi sais he is an elected representative. “The term dynasty is not precise. I am actually elected,” he said, in response to a question. “I think what you bring to the table is what is most important.”
We have to look at agriculture in connection with other aspects of economy
On asked about agriculture, he said, “Agriculture is linked with several things in the country. Its impact goes way beyond the farm. The vision that we can separate these things — industry, technology for instance — does not work. The fastest growth in India came in the rural areas. In the UPA period, the growth was in the rural areas because of MNREGA and loan waiver fired off the economy. When this happened, it triggered other aspects of the economy. We have to view this is a connected way.”
On the opportunities for the Congress
Gandhi said the party needs to bring in the millions of youth who buy the Congress idea and deliver to them an organisation that can work and can empower them to transform India. “To me, the Congress is yours. Gandhiji used to use the word ‘trusteeship’.”
On agriculture sector: ‘It is our duty to protect the farmer’
On agriculture, Gandhi said it is our duty to help and protect the farmer. He adds that the average Indian farmer doesn't make enough money to survive, which is an economic problem. It requires MSP, a sensitive touch when there's a calamity and sometimes loan waivers to help the farmer. In terms of productivity, we need to look at how to change habits, introduce technology, he added.
On 2019 Lok Sabha elections
“The next election is going to be pretty straightforward — BJP on one side and the entire Opposition on the other side,” sais Rahul Gandhi. “We need to defend Indian institutions, the idea of one man one vote. It will be clear-cut election where everyone will be on one side and the RSS-BJP will be on the other side.”
On weaker sections f the community
Rahul Gandhi said, he has been himself through a certain degree of violence. “I understand how violence works and how violence is destructive. That experiemce made me compassionate and that is why I reach out to peple,” he said.
On his assessment of the Congress party
Next election is going to be pretty straight forward. Next election is going to be a BJP on one side and the entire opposition on the other side. That is how the next election is going to be. And the reason for that is that almost everybody in the opposition and also members of the BJP alliance feel that the encroachment taking place on Indian institutions, the systematic attack that is taking place in Indian institutions. You saw four Supreme Court Justices come out and say, we’re not allowed to do our work. You saw recently a journalist who was sacked because he did a program about farmers in Chhattisgarh. So there is a feeling in the opposition that for the first time, a organisation is challenging the very concept of India and this has not happened in the last seventy years. So there is this move that we need to defend the Indian institutions, we need to defend the idea of one man one vote, we need to defend the inclusive idea of India. And you’re going to have a clear cut election where pretty much everybody is going to be on this side and the RSS/BJP is going to be on the other side and once that maths starts to come into play, and you can look at the UP & Bihar alliances as sort of the central focus areas, it becomes very difficult for the BJP to win elections. The Congress is an idea that is actually very old, it is not a new idea in India, similar to the RSS which is also an old idea in India and these ideas, if you read Indian philosophy, if you read our history, these ideas have been in combat for thousands of years. There are different visions on how to organise society. The RSS vision of how to organise society is a top to bottom hierarchy where knowledge is centralised. And the Congress’ vision of organising India is a decentralised structure where knowledge is available with everybody and you try to reduce the hierarchy. That’s the basic fight. So the Congress has this idea embedded very deep inside it.
When you talk to Congress workers, when you talk to Congress leaders and you scratch the surface, you find this idea, you find nonviolence inside them. They struggle in the environment, they struggle to bring it out because the environment is aggressive, there is a lot of push back but that idea is deep inside Congress workers and Congress leaders. That’s a huge strength. Weakness is that the Congress is not able to express that idea effectively to the people. So when people outside the Congress look at the Congress, they struggle to see that idea clearly. When you look at the BJP or I look at the BJP/RSS, it's very clear what they’re saying. There’s no confusion. The RSS has spent a certain amount of time working on that idea. Gandhiji used to do that for us. The big leaders of the Congress struggle used to do that for us. And that’s where the Congress party has not kept pace. But the good news is that the idea is in the Congress and the idea is in many many Indians and the idea manifests. So for example, when you see a strong person beating up a small person, a weak person, a woman on the street, something comes out inside you, you feel the sense of protection, you feel I want to do something about this, that's the Congress, that’s the idea of Congress. And you will feel it in you. So the weakness of the organisation is that it is not able to reach out to you and say that the idea that you’re feeling, that’s us. And the second thing is that the Congress has over time closed itself and the Congress needs to start opening itself. It needs to start saying, ok, you guys need to come in, you guys need to help us run this system, you guys need to work with us. The Congress needs to expand out and the Congress needs to be precise about what it actually stands for. Opportunity to me is bringing in millions and millions of Indian youngsters who deeply buy the Congress idea and delivering them an organisation that really can work with them, empower them to transform India. Threat in the Congress - arrogance.
ON 1984 ANTI-SIKH RIOTS
It was a tragedy, it was a painful experience. You say that the Congress party was involved in that, I don't agree with that. Certainly there was violence, certainly there was tragedy.
ON 2019 LS POLL
The next election is pretty straightforward. On one side there is BJP and on the other side, there is every opposition party. There is no way that the BJP can win the election.
ON INSURGENT GROUPS
If you do not give people a vision in the 21st century, somebody else will. And that is the real risk of excluding a large number of people from the development process. It's very dangerous to exclude people in the 21st century. Hate is a choice, and hate is a dangerous thing in a connected world. In the Congress party, we bring people together, we carry as many people as possible with us in the transformation process. There is a lot of hatred in the world today, but not enough act of listening. Listening is very powerful, and it can change the world.
Rahul Gandhi joined Indian politics 14 years ago in the year 2004 while declaring his participation in the Lok Sabha elections from his father’s constituency, Amethi in Uttar Pradesh. He took part in 2004 elections and won with a great majority of votes. The young wings of Congress party in India IYC and NSUI have faced a significant increase in the number of young party members after Rahul Gandhi was given command of these two political entities. His tremendous victory in the year 2004 in Amethi constituency put an end to all the allegations that were made on his leadership qualities. He repeated his success again in 2009 elections and single-handedly won the Uttar Pradesh elections for Congress party.
Rahul Gandhi was arrested in 2011 Uttar Pradesh police in Bhatta Parsaul town while he was campaigning with the farmers fighting for the right full amount of money for their lands. He was released after 3 hours of his arrest and was advised to leave for Delhi immediately. Rahul Gandhi can be easily seen spending his days in rural villages with the farmers in their farms and houses. He believes that a solution of any problem can be achieved if it is addressed at ground level.