Corruption snatches common man`s progress: Rahul Gandhi

Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi said severe punishment to be given to the corrupt.

Zeenews Bureau

New Delhi: At a time when the allegations of graft and greed are hitting the Congress hard, party general secretary Rahul Gandhi said corruption snatches common people`s opportunity to progress and severe punishment to be given to the corrupt.

Without referring to the 2G spectrum scam or the Commonwealth scam or the Adarsh housing scandal, he prefaced his remarks by noting that “a number of issues relating to corruption have surfaced recently.” Gandhi was addressing at the Congress Plenary session.

Incidentally, Sonia Gandhi, during her presidential address in the planetary, also did not mention any of the scams.

"Whatever the Congress President has said on the issue,has given us inspiration to fight corruption. We require accountability...severe punishment should be given to the corrupt," he said at the Congress Plenary while participating in the debate on the political resolution.
The Congress general secretary in charge of Youth Congress and NSUI tried to play a new ‘definition’ for Congress to the public gallery and said that Congress party is a bridge between the aam admi and government.

“An aam aadmi is that person who is not connected to the system. It is congress which has given them a pehchan (an identity). Its policies aim at inclusive participation of individuals in the public system. The goal of the Congress party is to improve human life”

“It is because of the policy, the country has maintained a sustained growth”, he said.

Gandhi identified the aam admi in his speech.

He is the tribal boy in Niyamgiri (Orissa) who is thrown off his land without justice

The dalit boy in Jhansi (Uttar Pradesh) who is forced to sit at the back of the class room.

She is the young professional in Bangalore who can`t get her child into a good school.

He is the university topper in Shillong who cannot get a job because he doesn`t know the right people.

He is the farmer in Aligarh who does not get the price he deserves for his land.

He is the farmer in Aligarh who does not get the price he deserves for his land.

He is the businessman in Hyderabad who is pushed aside because he does not have connections.

She is the widow in Vidarbha (Maharashtra), beset with tragedy in her family, struggling to make both ends meet.

He is the bureaucrat whose professional future is at risk because he refuses to compromise.

He is the worker who builds the Metro with his blood and sweat but will never get the credit for it.

He is the poor carpenter from Basti (Uttar Pradesh), living in the Mumbai slums, who did not get an education because of the lack of opportunity.

"We call him the common man, but in fact he is unique," said Rahul.

"He builds this country every day of his life and yet our system crushes (him) at every step," Rahul said amidst huge applause by the delegates

"We must never forget the relationship between growth and distribution of opportunity," Gandhi said.

Immediately after Rahul Gandhi’s address, senior Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee said, “Some parts of our country especially the north-east have become the victim of terrorism. And we regret deeply for this.”
While parsing Rahul Gandhi and other young leaders of Congress Mukherjee added, “Young leaders of Congress party have shown their total commitment towards the country and party can see India in safe hands.”

Concluding his speech with the consent of other party members Mukherjee passed a resolution which includes mainly a demand of Govt probe in between RSS and other terror links.

With Agency inputs