Exactly a year after Congress’ Chintan Shivir held in January 2013 in Jaipur, with the announcement of Rhaul Gandhi as the party’s vice-president, this year expected his further elevation at the All India Congress Committee (AICC) meeting in New Delhi held on Friday.
Addressing the conclave, Congress president Sonia Gandhi termed the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in 2014 as ‘a sharpening contest between conflicting ideologies’, and that her party would fight the elections based on pro-people schemes and secular values.
Attacking the BJP she said, ‘What is the path of our principal opponent? They want to divide the society on communal lines, create fanaticism, violence and tension. They impose uniformity in the name of unity and hurl false allegations against our leaders. We have never compromised with such communal ideologies and always fought them.’
She also went on to highlight Congress-led UPA government. ‘Is there any other government who has done so much work? The answer is no,’ she said. ‘In spite of impressive economic growth for which we can justifiably take credit, the fact is that disparities are still painfully widespread. Growth is essential and must be sustained. But rapid growth alone cannot address the problems arising out of continuing disparities,’ she added.
‘The country is going through turbulent times as a result of a fast-paced social and economic change. When a new generation, brimming with expectation and hope, wants its voice to be heard, it is justified,’ Gandhi said.
Speaking at the conclave, prime minister Manmohan Singh said that his government was not getting the ‘credit it deserves’ even though the country has seen the average growth of 7.9 per cent over the last nine years despite two bouts of global recession.
‘We agree that there are certain domestic reasons responsible for the slowdown in our growth rate. Infrastructure projects do not get expeditious clearances. Bureaucrats are hesitant to take decisions fearing that CVC and CAG will raise questions over their decisions,’ he said.
He asserted that the UPA government was taking steps to remove such ‘obstacles’ as he cited that the projects worth 5 lakh crores had been cleared by the Cabinet. ‘It will take some time for our efforts to bear fruit.’
Talking about efforts to deal with corruption, he said these issues are being dealt with as per law, although his government has followed the earlier policies in the allocation of coal blocks and 2G spectrum.
‘Now we have changed the system completely. Now the allocation of 2G spectrum and coal blocks is being done only through auction. In future, there is no scope of corruption in these areas,’ said Singh. Attacking the Opposition for stalling the House proceedings over scams, he said, ‘Only raising slogans won’t solve issues in the country. We need a stable government.’
Also addressing the meet, finance minister P Chidambaram urged youngsters to join the party. ‘No other government has witnessed such development. Everyone is equal for Congress. Idea for India is not that we will grow but to ensure that growth leads to inclusive development,’ he said.
Defending the government’s growth record, Chidambaram said: ‘We have given Rs 57,000 crore education loans. in the last ten years, our government has delivered successfully. India has achieved highest ever growth rate in the last ten years under the UPA.’
‘I have a radical idea, I feel that in at least 272 parliamentary seats, Congress must field candidates below 35 years. That will be our idea of ‘Young India, Empowered India.’ The youngsters will take forward the idea of Congress. I support the resolution and ask you to support the resolution,’ Chidambaram said.
Pictures of Patel, Bose on stage
New Delhi: The stage at the AICC meeting at a stadium here featured pictures of Congress leaders, both past and present, including Vallabhbhai Patel and Subhash Chandra Bose.
Pictures of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, party president Sonia Gandhi and vice president Rahul Gandhi were placed together at the Talkatora stadium with those of former prime ministers PV Narasimha Rao, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Rajiv Gandhi and Indira Gandhi.
Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders have accused the Congress of not adequately highlighting the contributions of its leaders outside the Nehru-Gandhi family.
There has also been an attempt by the BJP to appropriate the legacy of Patel who hailed from Gujarat. Chief minister Narendra Modi has initiated a project to construct the world’s tallest statue of Patel in the state.
Addressing the conclave, Congress president Sonia Gandhi termed the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in 2014 as ‘a sharpening contest between conflicting ideologies’, and that her party would fight the elections based on pro-people schemes and secular values.
Attacking the BJP she said, ‘What is the path of our principal opponent? They want to divide the society on communal lines, create fanaticism, violence and tension. They impose uniformity in the name of unity and hurl false allegations against our leaders. We have never compromised with such communal ideologies and always fought them.’
She also went on to highlight Congress-led UPA government. ‘Is there any other government who has done so much work? The answer is no,’ she said. ‘In spite of impressive economic growth for which we can justifiably take credit, the fact is that disparities are still painfully widespread. Growth is essential and must be sustained. But rapid growth alone cannot address the problems arising out of continuing disparities,’ she added.
‘The country is going through turbulent times as a result of a fast-paced social and economic change. When a new generation, brimming with expectation and hope, wants its voice to be heard, it is justified,’ Gandhi said.
Speaking at the conclave, prime minister Manmohan Singh said that his government was not getting the ‘credit it deserves’ even though the country has seen the average growth of 7.9 per cent over the last nine years despite two bouts of global recession.
‘We agree that there are certain domestic reasons responsible for the slowdown in our growth rate. Infrastructure projects do not get expeditious clearances. Bureaucrats are hesitant to take decisions fearing that CVC and CAG will raise questions over their decisions,’ he said.
He asserted that the UPA government was taking steps to remove such ‘obstacles’ as he cited that the projects worth 5 lakh crores had been cleared by the Cabinet. ‘It will take some time for our efforts to bear fruit.’
Talking about efforts to deal with corruption, he said these issues are being dealt with as per law, although his government has followed the earlier policies in the allocation of coal blocks and 2G spectrum.
‘Now we have changed the system completely. Now the allocation of 2G spectrum and coal blocks is being done only through auction. In future, there is no scope of corruption in these areas,’ said Singh. Attacking the Opposition for stalling the House proceedings over scams, he said, ‘Only raising slogans won’t solve issues in the country. We need a stable government.’
Also addressing the meet, finance minister P Chidambaram urged youngsters to join the party. ‘No other government has witnessed such development. Everyone is equal for Congress. Idea for India is not that we will grow but to ensure that growth leads to inclusive development,’ he said.
Defending the government’s growth record, Chidambaram said: ‘We have given Rs 57,000 crore education loans. in the last ten years, our government has delivered successfully. India has achieved highest ever growth rate in the last ten years under the UPA.’
‘I have a radical idea, I feel that in at least 272 parliamentary seats, Congress must field candidates below 35 years. That will be our idea of ‘Young India, Empowered India.’ The youngsters will take forward the idea of Congress. I support the resolution and ask you to support the resolution,’ Chidambaram said.
Pictures of Patel, Bose on stage
New Delhi: The stage at the AICC meeting at a stadium here featured pictures of Congress leaders, both past and present, including Vallabhbhai Patel and Subhash Chandra Bose.
Pictures of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, party president Sonia Gandhi and vice president Rahul Gandhi were placed together at the Talkatora stadium with those of former prime ministers PV Narasimha Rao, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Rajiv Gandhi and Indira Gandhi.
Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders have accused the Congress of not adequately highlighting the contributions of its leaders outside the Nehru-Gandhi family.
There has also been an attempt by the BJP to appropriate the legacy of Patel who hailed from Gujarat. Chief minister Narendra Modi has initiated a project to construct the world’s tallest statue of Patel in the state.