Zeenews Bureau
Aurangabad: Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi on Saturday linked the fight against corruption with youth’s entry into politics.
Rahul, who is on a three-day visit to Maharashtra, said corruption is a serious issue because it steals from the poor people. He added that the youth needed to step into politics to tackle the growing menace.
Rahul’s remarks come at a time when the UPA government has been under attack from all sides on the issue of corruption – be it on the CWG, 2G spectrum allocation, black money or tainted CVC Thomas’ appointment.
The Congress general secretary, who was addressing a press conference along with state Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan in Aurangabad, said, “Corruption is a problem because it steals from the poor people… Huge amounts of money are being generated in India through economic growth. It belongs to the poor.”
He added that “this money” needs to reach the poor in the form of education, healthcare etc.
He, however, rued that everyone points fingers at corruption but only few make effort to bring in the change.
Rahul also suggested two ways to fight corruption in the society: one, swift action against the corrupt, and second, opening the door of politics to the young.
Asked about his reaction to Malegaon’s Additional District Collector Yashwant Sonawane’s murder, who was recently burnt alive in broad daylight by the oil mafia in Nashik, Rahul said “we need to look into the incident”, adding it cannot be allowed to happen again.
On the issue of black money stashed abroad, Rahul said, "We should put in as much effort as possible to ensure that what is India`s money, what is people`s money, comes back.”
Rahul further said that coalition politics makes things more complicated but it is manageable for a long-term change.
His remarks on coalition politics earlier had created a tiff between the Congress and its ally NCP, which took offence to Rahul indirectly blaming Sharad Pawar for price rise.
Rahul, however, today clarified that he had never sought to link price rise and coalition politics.
The Congress leader also made scathing remarks about the country’s political system, saying parties here lack democracy and their doors are closed for the youth.
He stressed that the flaw needed to be corrected as the system was not allowing the youth to join politics.
“Until we change the way political organisations are designed, we will only talk (about bringing in the change), talk for the next 100 years,” he warned.
Talking about the Youth Congress, Rahul said youngsters don’t need their last name to join the organisation.
“Youth need to step forward and change the political system,” he said.
