Congress general secretary and in charge of frontal organisations Rahul Gandhi said on Tuesday he would introduce the pattern of electioneering and democratisation in the mass organisations of the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI). It would take a few years for these organisations to totally metamorphose into hardcore “cadre-based efficient units.”
Continuing his campaign to build party organisations and invigorating the youth in general, Mr. Gandhi did not deny the role of family and history in promoting political careers, “but that would end soon and sheer talent would be preferred in the future leadership.”
In a media interaction before addressing students of the Himachal Pradesh University (HPU), Mr. Gandhi said, “At the block and panchayat level [if not at the district level] purely elected leadership has started coming up.”
Asked about his vision for the vast population of youth other than the NSUI and Youth Congress, Mr. Gandhi said each one should focus on the job he was doing. “I am focusing hundred per cent [after becoming an MP] on the restructuring and opening up of Congress organisations to the general youth.”
‘Pakistan unimportant’
On the role of the UPA in foreign affairs and tackling neighbourhood problems, Mr. Gandhi said: “Pakistan is too unimportant to be discussed at any forum and there can’t be any comparison between the two countries.”
Limiting his interaction on Congress organisation building, he said the other two main political dispensations, the BJP and the Left, had no vision about India. “The BJP is an outdated party discussing Jinnah and not recognising the difference between two Indias. Their campaign of ‘India Shining’ is a sham for poor people in villages,” he said.
On the other hand the Left, which recognises the suffering India, wants to do away with the people and the classes that have the opportunities, he said. It was only the Congress that could connect the two classes of people “with and without resources.” He said the Congress, with programmes such as the NREGA, loan waivers and UID numbers would bring connectivity and give recognition to the poorest of poor.
Later addressing the NSUI activists, Mr. Gandhi re-emphasised the need to recharge the youth and build student organisations.
