Rahul Gandhi woos 'aam aadmi, says Congress will not resort to abuse

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Salumber (Rajasthan): Making a veiled attack on Narendra Modi, Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said Congress would not resort to abuse of its rivals notwithstanding any amount of provocation.
Addressing an election rally in poll-bound Rajasthan, a day after Modi attacked Congress on the issue of corruption with a sarcastic alphabetic primer, Gandhi said, "one person came and made fun (of us)." He did not take the name of the Gujarat Chief Minister.
"We will not say anything wrong about anybody. Opposition can attack us, abuse us. It is their discretion. They can also make fun of us, let them have pleasure. That anger is theirs and we will not accept their gift," the Congress Vice President said.
"No matter how much you (opposition) criticise us, we won't accept it because we are Congress soldiers, we work for the country. Our dream is the dream of our country. We are fighting for the poor people in the country. I want to crush my dreams and make your dreams mine," he said.
Narrating a tale to take a dig at Modi, Gandhi said once a Guru was teaching his disciples and 'suddenly another person came to him and showered abuses on Guruji. That person continued attacking the Guru with false allegations and wrong facts for 10-15 minutes but Guruji did not utter any word in return and maintained his calm'.
Guruji, He said, was asked by disciples as to why he did not respond to the abuses. "Guruji replied - see, that person came with a gift for me... anger. He offered it to me but I did not accept it. He shouted for 10-15 minutes but of no use. He went back with his anger and I am doing my duties'.

Congress leaders present Vice President Rahul Gandhi a bow and arrow at the party's Adivasi - Kisan Rally at Salumber, Udaipur on Wednesday - PTI
Apparently targeting BJP's on its stand on minorities, he highlighted the difference in thought between Congress and the Opposition party.
"What we consider is that India is a bouquet with different flowers. We want all the flowers to shine, be it Hindu, Sikh, Muslim or Adivasi or anyone. We want to take everyone along. We want the voice of Adivasis to be heard," he said.
Attacking the opposition parties for 'ignoring' poor, Gandhi said infrastructure development alone is not enough to take the country forward as the welfare of people also has to be taken care of.
"There are two different types of political ideology at present. One is that of Congress and the other is of the opposition. The opposition says India’s development will come with huge bridges, long roads and airplanes.
"We agree, but there is one more thing. We say that the country’s progress is only possible if we ensure the welfare and upliftment of the poor, the dalits … only if the people who build these bridges and these roads, are empowered," the Congress leader said. He believed that the country cannot develop just by building roads, railway lines, airports and other things.
"Country will not move forward until the people who put in their hard work for building this infrastructure get sufficient food and adequate medical facilities. This is the difference between the Congress and other opposition parties."
Talking about the welfare policies like MNREGA implemented by the UPA government for the benefit of the poor, Gandhi said the opposition kept on asking from where will the funds come for those. "But we showed them how to do it. Wherever you go in our country, the poor will agree that the Congress government gave them the right to job and thus respect," he said.
Moving on to the Food Security Bill, Gandhi said, "We have passed the bill granting the right to food" but "the opposition tried all their best to block it." He said the Opposition stalled Parliament and adopted various tactics to stall it.
"But committed (Congress President) Sonia (Gandhi) Ji and (Prime Minister) Manmohan (Singh) Ji put in their best efforts and got the Bill passed," the Congress leader said.
"Thus, we have now guaranteed right to food to every citizen in our country. This is not a small achievement. It is for the first time in our history that such a law is passed to make our country hunger-free," he said.