Farrukh Dhondy

Ignoring the debate over prime ministerial candidates and power centres in political parties, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi said Thursday the people were supreme as they alone could change a country’s destiny, not any individual, no matter however big he might be.
Without directly naming Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi, he also voiced disapproval of the politics of hatred and enmity, saying this did not contribute to growth. “The biggest danger is excluding people, including the poor, minorities and dalits... Anger, hatred and prejudice do not help growth. If you alienate communities, we all suffer,” he said.
“When you play the politics of alienating communities, you stop the flow of people and ideas. And when that happens, we suffer. Businesses suffer, the seeds of disharmony are sown and the dreams of our people are severely disrupted,” he said, adding such damage takes a very long time to reverse.
In his first major interaction with industry leaders after his elevation as party vice-president, and at a time of political uncertainty in the country with speculation rife about an early Lok Sabha election, Mr Gandhi neither provoked opponents nor tried to score brownie points against them while addressing CII’s annual general meeting here. The thrust of his speech was on uniting India, empowering people and making the nation’s model of development an example to the world. Wearing a white kurta-pyjama amid a sea of business suits, he left the industry leaders fairly impressed with his freewheeling remarks about major challenges before the country — poverty, lack of development, growing aspirations — before going on to say these could be effectively tackled only by empowering people and by their involvement. The business honchos present appreciated his concerns, which was reflected through repeated applause and several standing ovations in a hall that was packed to capacity. In an hour-long interaction, he showed how he was different from other PM aspirants. “I want to help people... to give them their voice”, he said. He also took a couple of questions at the end.
A few points he raised on Thursday, some of which he had also articulated at the Congress session in Jaipur in January, could well figure in the party manifesto for the next general election.
“There are a billion people in this country. It is not important what Rahul Gandhi thinks. It is important what a billion people think. Then we go into this model where you are going to have one guy who is going to come and he is going to fix everything... He is to come on a horse, the sun is in the backdrop and there are a billion people waiting ... and he is coming and everything is going to be all right... No, it is not going to work like that”.
He went on: “Give one individual all the power you want, he (still) can’t solve the problems of a billion people. Give the billion people the power to solve their problem, and it will be done immediately. It can’t be about one person... If you are expecting Manmohan Singhji or someone else to solve everything here, you are going to keep expecting.”
Rahul Gandhi noted that millions of youngsters had optimism even as they struggled every day. “We are readying to build a new political architecture”, he said, in which all voices, including those of business, will be incorporated. “Let us work together to build a brave, empowered new India,” he said, inviting business to partner the government in ensuring growth.
He underlined that the Congress was the only party that believed in taking everyone along, and claimed the country had witnessed faster growth under the UPA as it had greatly lowered tensions among communities and fostered harmony.
“On our part we are going to ensure a fair, rule-based stable environment for entrepreneurs large and small. An environment where businesses need not compete in corridors of Raisina Hill but compete instead in the streets and gallis of our towns and villages, an environment where business thrive by innovating better products and services,” he said.
The nation’s “economic vision must be about more than just money. It should not leave anybody outside. It must have compassion. Embracing the excluded is essential for the wealth of the nation”, He said: “India is bursting with dreams, optimism and brave ideas. This optimism is the spirit of India. This energy drives the consumption on which businesses are built.” He told industry leaders he had “come here to forge a long-term partnership to take the country forward”.
Faulting existing systems, Mr Gandhi said these were “closed”, as he wondered why all decisions, including the smallest ones, should be taken by “the most senior guy”. India, he said, needed inclusive growth, with a “strong connect between harmony and growth”, and this was the Congress’ vision.
The Congress, he said, was the only party that forges a partnership with core values to create harmony and an architecture accessible to all. “Inclusive growth is a win-win for everybody... We are creating a fair rules-based environment,” he said, inviting the business community to be a partner in this endeavour.
He said while the UPA was working for the country’s growth, the “government cannot build infrastructure alone... We are incapable of doing it alone. We need your (industry’s) help. We need to aggressively build knowledge infrastructure.”
Underlining the criticality of industry’s role in the nation’s growth, he said: “India cannot move forward without partnership... I invite business to unleash entrepreneurship. The country cannot move forward without you.”
He said there were three components — poor, business, middle class — for the country’s progress. “The country will move forward only when we stitch together all three components,” he said. “UPA rule has seen the fastest growth because of this vision of tolerance. Anger, hatred and prejudice do not contribute to growth.”