Guwahati: Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi, who is on a two-day visit to Assam, interacted with students from North East on Tuesday at Don Bosco University in Guwahati. "I see each one of you have a lot of will and will have immense potential”, he said.
The Congress vice-president also sought to assure the people of North- East migrating to other parts of the country for livelihood. Referring to the recent death of Arunachal Pradesh student Nido Taniam in Delhi over a trivial issue, Rahul Gandhi said “ignorance is the cause of what happened to Nido in Delhi.”
“People, generally, are not bad; but sometimes people get angry and act accordingly. When politicians come and say bad things it affects the citizens,” said Rahul Gandhi. Noting that he found inspiration in Mahatma Gandhi's ideologies, the Congress Vice President further said, “We have to tell people that they are a part of the country and are loved; anger needs to be eradicated."
“We need to give people the political power. I want students from Assam become MLAs, MPs, CM and PM. You are the future.. We must focus on connectivity; proposed corridors will benefit NE; we must focus on education for more development in NE... We can't solve all our problems in just few days; the solution to solve our issues is to empower our people” he said replying to various queries by the participants. “Compared to other countries, India is doing pretty well. We are the second fastest growing economy in the world," he told the gathering.
“Sometimes we forget how big our India is; it is growing faster than any other country” he said. On a question whether we should still continue with the system of reservation, Rahul Gandhi said, “The real problem is that there no sufficient seats in universities; if that is solved, the questions on reservation will end” and added, “There are still places in India, where one community is not allowed to fetch drinking water from wells used by high castes”.
On education, Rahul Gandhi commented, “Education system must be more student based; it should be connected to all spheres; it must have a good widen network.. We must reform our education system. It needs lots of changes to be made”.
“The single biggest problem in NE is the connectivity issue, whether by roads, trains or flights. This must be focussed on” said the Congress leader. “We have started to go to people to seek their opinion on Manifesto. No other party ever did so” said Rahul Gandhi.
Replying to another question on prevailing caste system, the Congress MP quipped, “If we empower people and give them proper space in politics, the casteism will end”. “People fight each other when there is communication gap.. if we listen each other, e chances for conflict is less” he commented.”
Stressing for the need of ensuring safety and equality for women, Rahul Gandhi said, “I come from a family where women are treated well. My father treated my sister and me the same way.. Why no one wants to talk about how & why women in India are insulted? How can we be a Super Power without equality? Women are suffering every day. Rape is an extreme manifestation. Girls are killed at birth.. We can never be a super power if our women do not feel safe in our country”.
“Women are more capable than men; they are more intelligent” said Rahul Gandhi amid big applauds from the participants. “Women should feel safe at anytime; 50% of our population is women; we want more women in Parliament, assemblies.. “ continued the Congress leader.
About North-East affairs, Rahul Gandhi said, “We can develop only if we are well connected; we need to improve on this at NE; we will give more attention to this”
When a girl from the gathering asked Rahul Gandhi, “Is it pen, gun or microphone that is most powerful weapon for change?” Rahul Gandhi immediately shot back, “It is the brain” and explained ”Even if we want to use a pen, gun or sword, we must have brain”.
“We must understand what do people really want; we must listen to them” he replied to another question, and added, “You have to look at other people, respect them; then only we can bring in changes”. “We have millions of people with different culture. That is our strength too. We unite when time demands, “ he said further.
Nothing can be built on anger, he reminded the students. “If someone is angry then we have to go to that person, talk to realise the issue”. “The first change in India that I want is the stable harmony amongst the people from different walks of life.. We don't want an India where one religion feels they are not safe in India, where women feel unsafe.. I believe in Mahatma Gandhi. Every conflict can be resolved with peace and brotherhood. Many of the conflicts take place because we don't empower people enough.. We can achieve success by love, affection and talking to people; that is what Gandhi ji taught us” said the Congress leader.
“The more power we give to the people, the youth, the less will be the conflicts” asserted Rahul Gandhi. “Assam back in peace because we involved people in discussions; and with their help we could achieve this” he said adding “Governance should be done by giving as many powers to the people”.
“Our systems don't serve the end-user. You have no input in your education. We have to build education system around you” he told the students. “Some politicians come here and make speeches and go back.. I am here to listen to you” he assured.
“To promote manufacturing, you have to promote entrepreneurship. We have to enable people like you to start something.. We can learn many things from failure; we actually can't learn much from success” suggested Rahul Gandhi.
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