Sonia Gandhi at Congress manifesto function: We want an India where every Indian has equal rights

Sonia Gandhi takes a dig at BJP: We need an ideology that unites; not divides

Congress President Sonia Gandhi , party Vice President Rahul Gandhi alongwith Prime minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and Defence minister AK Antony addressed a function to release the election manifesto of the Congress party for the 2014 general pools at the Congress headquarters on Akbar Road.
Sonia Gandhi, who is also the UPA Chairperson, praised the Manmohan Singh-led Central government for passing several historic legislations in its past ten years of governance. About the new methodology adopted by the Congress to prepare the present manifesto, the Congress President said, “This time, we have adopted a new method to frame our manifesto. Rahul Gandhi had held interactive sessions with people of all walks of life across the country to seek their opinion on our manifesto. We have tried our level best to include maximum suggestions we received from the people”.
“Our present manifesto has touched upon many new areas of development. We have promised Right to Healthcare for all in our manifesto. We also intend to give a right to house for all homeless poor” added Sonia Gandhi.
“I believe, this election will not be about just programmes, policies or economy. This election for the Congress is important to keep constitutional fabric of the country intact. It is the time to fight to protect our rich tradition of unity in diversity. We will fight for ‘Ekta’ not for ‘Ek roopta’. We will have fight to protect an ideology that unites us, which does not make people fight against each other” said the UPA Chairperson..
“We will fight for such an India, that treats all equally whatever the caste, religion or region may be. We need to build such a country which is secular and everyone feels that they are Indians. We want to build such an India which does not belong to just a handful of people but to the entire citizens. We want an India where every Indian has equal rights. In this election we fight for principles which unite people and strengthen democracy” said Sonia Gandhi in an indirect at BJP.
“For some political parties, election manifesto is a vote grabbing tool, but it is not the case for the Congress party. For Congress, it is a sacred document. Political principles and promises in manifesto are not just for showing others, but to live by. This has been our tradition and mission and we will never deviate from this ideology at any cost” assured the Congress President while concluding ger brief address..
Sonia Gandhi also defended her party's decision to field Ashok Chavan in the Lok Sabha polls despite corruption charges against him. "The decision of giving Ashok Chavan ticket was taken by the CEC. As far as we know, Chavan is not barred from contesting the election by any law," said Sonia Gandhi while replying a question.

Full text of the speech by Congress President Sonia Gandhi at Congress 2014 election manifesto function

Rahul Gandhi: Modi's coming to power would be damaging for the country

Rahul Gandhi at Congress manifesto release function: BJP balloon will burst soon
Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi while interacting with the media persons during the function to release the Congress manifesto for the 2014 general elections, expressed confidence that UPA will form the government again and said that BJP's campaign balloon will burst like 'India Shining' in 2004. He also warned that BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi's coming to power would be damaging for the country.
The Congress vice President added, “I have a slight understanding of the ground reality in Uttar Pradesh. This BJP balloon is going to burst in UP 100%, not 90%." He insisted that it was the Congress which had more allies in the country but the popular projection was different. “NDA had BJD and JD(U) as its allies, but today they are not with NDA. But Congress did find new allies,” he said.
Rahul Gandhi said the Gujarat chief minister represents an ideology which is exclusionary, the kind that makes people fight. It will harm the country, and the Congress will defeat that thinking, he said. He also said the Congress is the only party that can focus on growth along with the welfare of the poor.
"The only way India will move forward is a partnership that includes the poor, dispossessed, others. You can't have a government which focuses only on one section," he said. "The future India will be built by poor people, those in the villages." The BJP's dream is an India where a few people run the country, he added.
“The manifesto that we have here is truly the voice of the people of this country. We had a manifesto in 2009 and I am proud to say that 90% that we have written in that manifesto have been delivered by the UPA government and the Prime Minister” said Rahul Gandhi.
“We commit to do exactly the same in 2014 manifesto. I would like to say a little about what Congress party stands for that is different than our opponents. We believe that for this country to grow there it needs to be a firm partnership between the business, between the economic sectors of this country and between the poor. We believe you cannot owe this country neglecting either business or neglecting the poor people. The best ideology is to do this is Congress party” asserted the Congress leader.
“We had long discussions with you and you have given us good suggestions. Porters at New Delhi railways gave their suggestions, fishermen in Maharashtra gave their views, women and tribal, all gave their respective suggestions to us...We put your voice with depth in our manifesto for the first time” said Rahul Gandhi explaining how his party drafted this election manifesto.
Full text of the speech by Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi at the release of Congress Manifesto