Sonia Gandhi pays homage to Mahatma Gandhi on his 65th death anniversary

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The Nation on Wednesday paid tributes to Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of the Nation, on his 65th death anniversary.President Pranab Mukherjee, Vice-President Mohammad Hamid Ansari and Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh paid floral tribute to Gandhi at his memorial Rajghat. Congress President and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and a host of other dignitaries also paid tribute to the apostle of peace at his memorial. A series of functions are being organized throughout the country to mark the occasion.

Sonia Gandhi pays tribute to Gandhi Ji on his 65th death anniversary

The Nation on Wednesday paid tributes to Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of the Nation, on his 65th death anniversary. President Pranab Mukherjee, Vice-President Mohammad Hamid Ansari and Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh paid floral tribute to Gandhi at his memorial Rajghat. Congress President and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and a host of other dignitaries also paid tribute to the apostle of peace at his memorial. A series of functions are being organized throughout the country to mark the occasion. Mahatma Gandhi was born on October 2, 1869 in Porbandar. A lawyer by profession, Gandhi led the struggle for India''s independence from British rule by following the path of non-violence. Ironically, Gandhi was shot dead by a Hindu fanatic, Nathuram Godse, at a prayer meeting in Delhi on January 30, 1948, less than a year after India became independent. For more details: http://www.gandhisonia.com http://www.pressbrief.in

Sonia Gandhi’s intervention: Uttarakhand govt to stop Corbett land grab

Frequent interventions by Congress president Sonia Gandhi have made the Uttarakhand government crack the whip on 'encroachers' in Corbett Tiger Reserve.

The state government has banned any kind of land transaction within a radius of 2 km from the reserve boundary. Sonia was apprised of this decision through a letter dated January 4, 2013 by Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna. reports about land encroachment along the periphery of the national park, especially around the Ramganga river, prompted Sonia, who is also the chairman of the National Board for Wildlife, to take up the matter with the Prime Minister.

In a letter dated May 11, 2012, Sonia Gandhi demanded that allegations made in new reports be probed. "The peripheral forestland are being encroached upon and tourism-related infrastructure is posing a threat to the wildlife in the reserve. I request you to have the matter urgently examined so that appropriate measures may be undertaken to preserve the ecological integrity of the reserve," the letter stated.

The Environment and Forest Ministry quickly constituted a two-member committee to probe the matter. On June 5, the committee submitted a report seeking a probe against activities of four people - former BJP president Nitin Gadkari, former MP Akbar Ahmed Dumpy, former forest minister Nav Prabhat and Leisure Hotels managing director Mukund Prasad. The panel recommended immediate halt on all revenue land transactions in buffer areas of Corbett Tiger Reserve till a high-level probe is completed by the state government. The report stated: "A departmental inquiry should be conducted in the alleged collusion of officials to facilitate private hoteliers and lodge owners and MoU by the state with private angling associations in the buffer area must be terminated."

Sonia Gandhi sent the findings to Bahuguna on June 12. She wrote: "You are requested to look into the matter personally as the issue is of serious nature." Bahuguna ordered a vigilance inquiry and immediately reverted to Sonia through a letter dated July 14, apprising her of the interim measures he had taken.

Sonia Gandhi: We are committed to India's unity, will fight those who divide us

“We should understand that people are disillusioned by the political process, we should be sensitive to that and bring changes to that effect, said Sonia Gandhi in her address on the last day of the three-day Chintan Shivir of the Congress in Jaipur on Sunday.

 The Congress President added, “Corruption is a deep-seated malaise. We are resolved to fight against it. That is why we have passed the Lokpal Bill in the last Lok Sabha session. We have introduced the ‘aapka paisa, aapke haath’ direct cash transfer scheme to weed out middle-men from the system,” she announced. Sonia Gandhi said, "India is a country rooted in a strong federal structure that works for its people and has principled relationship with neighbours."

The party president highlighted the achievements of the UPA government such as the direct cash transfer scheme. and against corruption. The government has initiated a five-point programme, including drafting laws to combat corruption, she said. Agriculture and farmer is central to our programmes.

We are committed to India's unity, will fight those who divide us, she said.

 "We are forming a committee to process all suggestions that have come here and work on programmes we can implement," informed Sonia Gandhi.  Talking about the Delhi gang rape case, Sonia Gandhi said, "Will ensure that the death of the Delhi Gang rape victim does not go in vain." Saying that the meeting came against the backdrop about the safety of women, she referred to the brutal gang-rape that shook the nation."She is a symbol of women and children who suffer from similar fate," she said. Sonia Gandhi said "we will ensure that her death will not go in vain". Saying that certain politicians had made outrageous comments following the incident, she said: "We can not tolerate mindsets that lead to crimes against women." "Every woman, every girl in our country has the fundamental right to be secure and safe," said Sonia Gandhi. "I will personally continue to press for the Women's Reservation Bill which will allow 1/3rd reservation for women in Parliament and state legislatures," she said.

The Jaipur declaration called on all secular and progressive forces to unite in ideological battle against those who polarise and divide society.

At 'Chintan Shivir', Sonia Gandhi warns young Congressmen on lavish lifestyle

Congress President Sonia Gandhi has set the tone of discussion for Congress’ Chintan Shivir that began in Jaipur on Friday. As the party readies for the 2014 elections, Sonia Gandhi urged the Congress workers to take stock of party’s strengths, weaknesses and threats and warned that the middle-class, with which the party hopes to reconnect, is fed up with corruption that they face in their daily lives.

"This is a phenomenon, a churning that we must understand and continue to respond to. We cannot allow our growing educated and middle classes to be disillusioned and alienated from the political process," said Sonia Gandhi. She also pointed out that people were now better informed and equipped than ever before and that their expectation from their government had also grown. She reminded the younger Congressmen and women, a big chunk of the 350 people invited, to be austere. An extravagant show of money, she said, would lead to the question - where does the wealth come from?

In her address, Sonia Gandhi talked about the Congress' nine years of rule at the Centre and what it had gained and lost in that time. She touched upon coalition politics, Indo-Pak relations, gender issues and crime against women and corruption, and exhorted those gathered to "speak your mind - as we are here on business that will determine our future".

 That is an immediate future, with General Elections due next year. "There is increased competition and inroads have been made in our traditional strongholds. We have to strike a fine balance between respecting alliances and ensuring rejuvenation of the party," Mrs Gandhi said, adding: "We are the only pan Indian party with a visible and viable position in every village. We articulate the concerns of all, especially the weaker sections of the society. Inclusiveness is anchored in our conviction, not the outcome of compulsion as it may be for our opponents."

The Congress hopes to emerge from the two-day-long session armed with strategy on, among other things, how to address an alienation from the middle class, seen most recently when the government it leads was found grossly inadequate in its response to spontaneous protests after the brutal gang-rape and torture of a 23-year-old medical student in a moving bus in Delhi last month.

Sonia Gandhi said, "Discrimination against the girl child and atrocities against women are a blot on our collective conscience. Sexual harassment, women trafficking and female foeticide should shake us and awaken us...Gender issues are fundamental and the entire party must bring this to the heart of political activity and change mindsets."

At a meeting on women's issues that she attended with son Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi said gender sensitivity should begin at home.

Sonia Gandhi wants jobs for youth, welfare of tribals

For Congress President and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, development means welfare of the poor. If the poor and underprivileged sections of the society are not getting the benefits and they are not able to be a part of the path of progress, we can not claim development, she always believed.

In her recent campaign for the Congress in Gujarat, Sonia Gandhi had slammed the BJP government for its false claims of development. She said that the tribals in the state are in distress and pain.  “The welfare and development of A diva sis are our prime concern but the present BJP government has not been serious in this matter. They have almost killed the Van Bandhu Kalyan Yojana”. “You must be remembering that the UPA Government at the Center had waived off loan worth crores  of the poor farmers but still the condition of the farmers in Gujarat remains pathetic because of the anti-people policies of the BJP government in the state”, she added. 

Sonia Gandhi further said “Lots of youth are jobless in the state. The health and education facilities are insufficient here.  My sisters in this state have been facing atrocities because of the worsening law and order situation in the state. Why all these happening here? If the government had given attention to your problems, you would not have faced so many problems”.  The Congress President urged the people to support Congress and to bring back the state of Gujarat to the path of development.

Sonia Gandhi :We as the Congress Party must work united, to come up to the people’s expectations

  “The time has come to work together, as the people of our country have great expectations from our Congress party. And, only by fulfilling the aspirations of  people, we will definitely get the mandate again in the coming Lok Sabha  elections, just a little more than a year away from now,” declared Congress President Sonia Gandhi.

She in her concluding address on the concluding day of on-going Chintan Shivir  (brainstorming session) here on Sunday, urged the party workers to gear-up for effective organizational thrusts at all levels, in a meaningful manner.

“ Its time to look within, as the party. What makes us different and unique compared to other political out-fits in the country, must be outlined very clearly. We must answer effectively to questions as why people should vote for the Congress,” categorically stated Congress President Sonia Gandhi.

Congress-led UPA has completed eight and half years at the Centre. It has been a long journey. “We have come up a long way and we must apprise the people with our achievements. Be it about projects under UPA flagship or about various legislations like Right to Information Act ( RTI) and many others, we must project these to the people in general. We have to tell that we as a party have been deeply concerned for the social justice and economic parity among all sections of the society,” she stressed.

Notably, at the very outset of her address at about 10.30 am on Sunday here, Congress President Sonia Gandhi deliberated upon about the unfortunate incident of Delhi gang-rape on December 16 last year. She strongly forwarded that death of  the gang-rape victim in the nation’s capital would not go in vain.

“She ( gang rape victim) was brave and she symbolized the spirit of new India. I will personally see that every single woman and single girl in the country are safe and secure,”  strongly advocated Congress President Sonia Gandhi.

She also talked about reservation for women in the Parliament and she said that it was the vision of late Rajiv Gandhi who forwarded for women’s reservation in the Panchayati Raj system.

Talking about the issue of development as being a poll plank by many political parties, she said that as a party, the Congress is committed for overall development with social justice and economic parity for all.

She urged the party workers to expose all those (other political parties) which claim the UPA flagship projects as their own. Congress President Sonia Gandhi said, “We have not discriminated against any state and have given financial assistance, as required. But, many states claim the Central projects as their own, which we must expose.”

“Congress-led UPA at the Centre is doing all it can, for the overall development of the nation. We as the party must also get into effective mechanism to let people know what all we have done so far and what all we are doing for the country,” she said.

Talking about global economic slowdown and its effect on the Indian economy, Congress President said that some hard decisions have been taken to keep away the likely damages on our economy. “We as the Congress Party must make people aware about these facts and the necessity of the decisions, taken in the interest of the nation,” she focused. She also talked about international relations and said that on accepted civilised structures, the country would go for it with any other country. 

  

In a statement declared from the dais of the Chintan Shivir, Congress President Sonia Gandhi said that the Congress party has been led by great people like Mahatma Gandhi, Lal Bahadur Shashtri, Indira Gandhi., Maulana Azad, Dr B R Ambedkar, Rajiv Gandhi  and many others, to make India a modern country as it is today.

“We as the Congress Party have been fortunate to have been led by great visionaries and now, with their ideals, we must surge ahead to come up to the expectations of the people of this country,” announced Congress President Sonia Gandhi.

Sonia Gandhi at AICC session: Tackling corruption, safety of women should be the priorities

“I will continue to press for women reservation Bill; Delhi Gang-rape victim’s death will not go in vain”

Congress President Sonia Gandhi today addressed a meeting of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) in Jaipur on the last day of the Chintan Shivir that began on Friday. “I am delighted by the active participation of our young leaders at the Shivir. The Chintan Shivir allowed us to introspect on key national and international issues” said the Congress President.

Referring her concern over corruption which according to her is deep rooted in the entire system, Sonia Gandhi said “Let me reiterate corruption at all levels is a deep rooted malice and all sections of society are affected by it. As a party we must lead struggle to combat its effect. At the last AICC session, corruption was major issue. I laid out a five-point action plan then and the government has worked on it.”  “We have introduced the Lokpal bill in Parliament. We have introduced new path-breaking legislation for addressing public grievances and to protect whistleblowers” added the Congress President.

Touching upon the game changing policy of Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) Sonia Gandhi said “We also launched the historic 'Aap Ka Paisa Aap Ke Haath' scheme, which will stop corruption by middlemen”.

Sonia Gandhi also talked about the recent gang rape incident in Delhi that invited wide protests across the country. “The barbaric gang-rape of a young woman in Delhi has shaken the country. She embodied the spirit of an aspirational India. We will ensure her death will not go in vain” said the Congress President.

“Gender issues were discussed at the Chintan Shivir. The Congress has been at the forefront in the struggle to empower women, and it will continue to do so. Every woman has the fundamental right to feel safe and secure. Public figures made unacceptable remarks against women. We cannot tolerate mindsets that lead to crimes against women and children” she underlined.

Sonia Gandhi then declared “I assure you I will continue to press for a law for 30 per cent reservation for women in Parliament and assemblies”.

Exhorting the leaders to go to the people and explain the Congress’s achievements, the party leader continued “Today is also the time for the party to introspect and see how we are better than our opponents. We need to clearly explain to the people why we are a better political choice. We have the support of all sections of the society. The Congress is especially concerned about the welfare of the backward sections, women and farmers”.

She also sent out a warning; “We will fight forces that threaten the unity and integrity of the country”.

Listing out UCongress-led UPA Govt’s achievements, the chairperson of the claition said “Congress has worked to free the country from poverty. Our UPA government has worked very effectively under the leadership of Manmohan Singh”.

While defending the Centre’s economic reform measures, she added “Global recession is having an effect on India and has forced the government to take some hard decisions, which have hit the people” and told the Congress leaders, “We should explain to the people the reasons for these hard economic decisions”.

Admitting that the people have losing faith in politicians, Sonia Gandhi reminded “People are losing faith in politicians. We have to understand why this is happening”.

The Congress president also spoke about the need for electoral reforms and said that the Election Commission (EC) must introduce the necessary changes. Sonia Gandhi also asked the party members to work with unity and discipline saying that their victory was in the victory of the party.

“There are only 15 months left to the Lok Sabha elections. If we work well, there is no doubt we will be re-elected again. This is the time to work hard. As the country's main political party, the people's expectations from us is higher. We cannot let down the people who have put their faith in us” she said while concluding her address.

Rahul Gandhi: The people are my life and I will always fight for them

Rahul Gandhi while delivering his first speech at Congress’ chintan shivir at the Jaipur on the concluding day said that the people of this country are his life and he will fight for them. “The people of India are my life and I will fight for the people of India and for this party. I will fight with everything I have. I invite all of you to stand up and take on this fight” said Rahul Gandhi amidst loud applauds.

Full text of Rahul Gandhi’s speech

This is a huge honour for me. Over the past 8 years and in the past 8 years the party has taught a lot to me. The party has reposed tremendous faith in me and I want to thank all of you from bottom of my heart for all the help and directions they have given me.

There are people from south India who want me to speak in English. There are people of north India who want me to speak in Hindi. As a tradition I will first speak in English and then in Hindi.

In 1947 India was liberated, not by arms, but by unleashing the voice of our people. Other countries fought violently; they fought with weapons; they fought with death; India fought with non-violence and with voice. Everybody told us that it can not be done. They told us if we want to get rid of British you have to use violence. But the Congress party said no and also said that we are not going to use violence. We will use non-violence and we defeated the biggest empire of that time and sent them home.

This was the energy behind our freedom movement. Voices.. millions and millions of voices..  Gandhiji’s successors led by Jawar Lal Nehru freed voices of every Indian by ensuring the democracy and became the bedrock of our constitution.  Relentlessly championing the voice of every Indian will always be the essence of the Congress party. Every single Indian, without seeing his caste or religion, will be supported by the Congress party… no matter who he is.. no matter where he is.. If he is an Indian we work for him.

Let us look at the 60 years of India’s successes. They have all come when we gave our people voice. The green revolution restored the voice of the farmers.. Bank nationalization restored the voice of the poor.. IT and telecom revolution literally gave the people voice for million and millions of people. If you have got the mobile phones in your phones in your pockets that was the result of that revolution.

It is an honour that Manmohan Singh Ji is sitting here. Because he spearheaded another revolution.. In 1991 he unleashed the voice of thousands in the field of entrepreneurship and changed the country for ever..

The UPA Government has followed Gandhi Ji’s model. It has created platforms for those denied their voice in the political system. For the first time in our history our people have been guaranteed their basic rights; social and economic rights.. The food Bill will ensure that no mother sees her child goes hungry at night.. RTI gives every single Indian the right to personally take on the battle against corruption.. MNREGA has given millions of Indians pride in their work; The right to education enables every child to aspire to greatness. All of these radical innovations were possible only because of the growth provided by the Congress party and the UPA.

But there are many challenges ahead. The voices of the million of Indians today are telling us that they want a greater say in governance, in politics and in administration. They are telling us that the cause of their lives cannot be decided by a handful of people behind closed doors who are not fully accountable to them. They are telling us that India’s system of governance is stuck in the past; it has become a system that robs people’s voice; a system that disempowers instead of empowering;

But why we have been in this situation? Our ministries do the work of panchayats; Why do our Chief Ministers need to appoint a teachers? Why do our Vice Chancellors chosen by people who are far removed from the education system?  No matter what the state you look at; No matter which political party you look at; Why do a handful of our people control the entire political space?

Power is grossly centralized in our country. We only empower the people at the top of our system. We don’t believe in empowering the people all the down all the way in the bottom. Every single day I meet people with tremendous understanding. Almost everywhere they are kept out of system.. No one can hear their voice.. No matter how much they try to speak..  no one listens.. I also meet people holding high positions.. they have tremendous voice but no understanding of the issues at hand..

Why this happens? It happens because we don’t respect knowledge.. We respect positions.. It doesn’t matter how much wisdom you have, if you do not have a position you mean nothing. This is the tragedy of India.. Why the youth are out on the streets? They are angry because they are alienated. They are excluded from the political class.. They watch from the sidelines.. Why are our women suffering? Because their voices have not been trampled upon the people with arbitrary powers on their lives. Why our poor are confined to poverty? Because decisions regarding their lives and the services they need are being taken by people far away answerable to them only in theory..

Unless we respect and empower people for their knowledge and understanding we cannot change anything in this country.. All our public system, administration, justice, education and political system are designed to keep people with knowledge out. They are all closed system. Their design creates mediocrity and mediocrity dominates. Mediocrity dominates discussions and the voices are crushed by the loudness of the people who posses neither the understanding nor compassion. Success in these systems does not come through building. It comes by excluding.  It comes not by pushing people forward but by holding people back.

Everyday initiative is killed to maintain the status quo. We do not praise our colleagues or look at their strengths. We only look at the ways to neutralize them. Every day we face with the hypocrisy of this system. We see it every day but we pretend that it is not there. People who are corrupt stand up and talk about eradicating corruption. People who disregard women in their entire life talk about women’s rights. Until we start to respect and empower the people for their knowledge, for their understanding, we are never going to change this country.

We need the aam aadmi to participate in politics. Even if I speak, the decisions have been taken inside closed rooms. There is a young and impatient India and it is demanding a greater voice in the future of the nation. Let me tell you that they are not going to watch all silently.

Our priorities are clear. The time has come to question the centralized, unresponsive and unaccountable system of decision making in governance, administration and politics. Lots of people say that the system needs to be run better. What we need is to transform the system. We need to rethink about the system and we should reform it..

I am optimistic.. We have already put the building block for this revolution in place. And to a big degree I would like to thank the Congress President, the Prime Minister and the Congress party for putting these building blocks in place. Let me tell you what these building blocks are..

India is more connected today than it was ever been. We have the networks of roads, information, communication, people and media for new ideas to emerge. It is no longer possible to limit an idea.

Let me speak about Aadhaar. It gives us an unprecedented mechanism to recognize the unique journey and aspiration of every single Indian, no matter where he is. Direct Cash Transfer is going to allow us to respond to these dreams with an empowering delivery system. My father used to talk about 15 paise to rupee reaching the people. We today, are preparing a system that is going to answer that question.  Now 99 percent of their money will go to the people. It is a revolution and no other country has done it. We are preparing that revolution.

We prepared the revolution and our opponents say that we are bribing the people. Giving the people their due is now called bribing the country. They say because they are scared. They understand what Aadhar can do, they understand what cash transfer can do, and most importantly they understand what people in the Congress party can do.

Panchayatiraj and women Self help movement gave us a platform to transform our democracy..  The balance of power in decision making must shift away from Delhi and state capitals to panchayats and wards. Congress party must wage the continuous and relentless battle to overcome social prejudice and discrimination against women, dalits, minorities and tribals.

I am optimistic about the building blocks but I am most optimistic and excited because I see the energy, the passion and the capability of the youth. We need to address their urgent demands for the jobs, now. Our institutions for learning and training must respond, first and foremost, to prepare youth its skill for the best jobs in the world. Equally, the decision that matters to creating jobs needs to be further liberated from irrational red tapes and outdated laws so that the tremendous energy of our youth can be wholly unleashed.

Now let me talk something about our organization. You have given me a big responsibility. Congress is a big family.. the biggest in the country and the world.  Any one from Indian can join us. We need a quick transformation but proper thoughts are required to do it. For transformation, we all should work as a unit by listening to everyone’s voice.

I was heading the NSUI and Youth Congress and now I am the Vice President of the party. You should not feel that Rahul Gandhi listens to only NSUI and Youth Congress. Rahul Gandhi’s family is always with every one of you. From today onwards Rahul Gandhi will work for all in the party. I want to assure you that I will treat every one of you equally whether you are from Youth Congress, NSUI or any other party outfit. I will listen to all of you and will try to understand your problems. 

There is no any permanent law and policy for Congress. It is the biggest party in the world and we keep on changing our policies as per the need of the system. That is the beauty of the Congress and on many occasions I myself thought how the system works in Congress. But people support us and we keep winning elections.

Congress is the party made by Gandhi Ji and it is filled with the DNA of India. Even our opponents are surprised to see the upsurge of our party. There are many parties who stand for certain religion, caste or community but we say that we are for Indians. We don’t see people seeing their caste or religion and we treat every Indian equally.

Still we need a proper system. We need to focus on effective leadership building. We need to develop more and more efficient leadership so that after five years we will not feel any shortage of leadership to run the states as well as the nation. We should build able and secular leadership for the future of our party and the country. 

We should be careful in ticket distribution for elections. On many occasions we do not discuss with local leadership before distributing tickets. Many leaders from other parties come to us and we give ticket to them. After the elections they just run away. We need to give tickets on merit. We should change this. There should not be any parachuting of candidates from the top. We should respect the feeling of our cadres and leaders. We also should take strong actions against the rebel candidates.

The problem is in the implementation of our policies. You have the knowledge and wisdom and if we try to implement our policies, together, we can be successful and when we are successful no one can defeat us. We should listen more to the voices of the people at the grass root level. If we do so the frustration, anger and pain inside the people will come down. They will start thinking about us positively and that will help us to gain electorally.

I heard our senior leaders as well as the young members in the past two days. There is no shortage of knowledge in our party. No one thinks so deeply like us. I want to learn more from all of you. I want to listen to your voices and take it forward. I want to be a judge, not a lawyer.

I now want to shar some emotional things with you. Today I was standing at the balcony and was thinking about the huge responsibility given to me by the party and the workers. I want to tell a little bit of what I feel. I want to tell you about hope and I also want to tell you about power.

When I was a little boy, I used to play badminton. I loved it because it gave me balance in a complicated world. I was taught how to play in my grand mother’s house by two police men who protected my grand mother. Dear my friends, one day, they killed my grand mother and took away the balance in my life.

I felt pain like I never felt before. Many of us had experienced this and you will therefore understand my feelings. My father was in Bengal and he came back. The hospital was dark, green and dirty. There was a huge crowd screaming outside. They were very angry. It was the first time in my life that I saw my father crying. He was the bravest person I knew but I saw he was crying. Though I was a kid, I could see that my father was broken.

On those days our country was not the same what we see today. In the eyes of the world we had nothing. No cars, money or wealth and every one used to call us a poor country. The same evening I saw my father addressing the nation on Television. I knew; like me he was broken inside. He was terrified.

But when he spoke at that dark night, I saw a small glimmer of hope. It was like a small ray of light in a dark sky. The next day I realized that many people have seen it. Today as I look back I can see that it was that small ray of hope in the darkness that changed India as we see what today. Without hope you can not achieve anything. You can have plans, ideas, but unless you have hopes you can not change things.

Now I want to talk to you about power. Last night every single one of you congratulated me. But last night my mother came to my room. She sat with me and she cried. Why did she cry? She cried because she understands the power so many people seek is actually a poison. She can see it what it does to the persons around and the people they love. Most importantly she can see it because she is not attached to it.

The only antidote to this poison, for all of us, is not to become attached to it. We should not chase power for the attributes of power. We should only use it to empower the voice of people. It is my mother’s experience in her life time, it is my experience of 8 years, and I am sure many of you who deal with power every day understand what I am saying and realize the positive and the negative. We must not forget that there is negative and you have to be very careful when you administer the power.

Today India is not like it was in 1994. We are no longer seen as worthless. Today the entire world is quoting us. Today we are the future and as I said before nations are not built on schemes and plans but is on the foundation of a hope. I am standing here because the Congress party is the symbol of this hope and has a potential to embody it.

I want to end by saying that the Congress party is my life. The people of India are my life and I will fight for the people of India and for this party. I will fight with everything I have. I invite all of you to stand up and take on this fight.