Puducherry: AICC General Secretary Rahul Gandhi
has said that the "biggest task" facing India was elimination
of poverty and said, "we are going to use all our resources to
win the battle".
Addressing an election rally at Villianoor near here today,
Rahul said both the Central and Puducherry governments
believed that without helping the poor and the weaker
sections, "we cannot make the country move forward".
While the country was growing at eight per cent, the rate
in Puducherry was 14 per cent, he said.
Puducherry administration had earmarked one fourth of the
its entire budgetary allocations for the social front and for
alleviation of poverty, he said. "Today Puducherry is among
the states with the highest rate of literacy in the country",
he added.
Stressing on the importance of women in the developmental
process, Rahul said it was so significant that a quota of
reservation had been created for them in Panchayati Raj
system. "We are going to do the same in the MLA and MP system
as well", he added.
He said that both the governments at the Centre and in
Puducherry had created a fast economic growth. "We believe in
inclusive growth", he said and asserted that everyone should
be taken along in this process.
Praising the Puducherry government for its achievements,
Rahul said the Union Territory government had an annual plan
allocation of Rs 2,000 crore. The `Mangalam project` for
the welfare of women had ensured financial inclusion of women
in process of growth and developmental activities, he said.
In addition to making Puducherry an educational hub
attracting students from all over the country, the Puducherry
government was also working on making the Karaikal Port a
major commercial hub, he said.
Hailing the Youth Congress, Rahul said he was "very proud"
of what it had achieved as it had the "first democratically
elected political organisation in the country".
"If we want to change the way politics works in this
country, we have to bring in youth from all backgrounds and
from all the communities as they understand the needs of the
youth in education, health care, and employment sectors", he
said. Youth Congress was the only organisation in the country
that was systematically doing this, he claimed.
Puducherry Chief Minister Vaithilingam thanked the UPA
government and also Rahul for sustained cooperation in the
developmental activities of Puducherry.
PTI
