Mr Gandhi said that his party has ensured that convicted MPs are kept out of Parliament. (PTI)
An assertive Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi today made a strong point about his party's embarrassing defeat at the recently held assembly elections. He said there is no excuse for what happened and insisted that the Congress party will renew itself.
"We didn't really hit a six in the last election, we didn't do as well as we expected. The recently held elections have made their point, we need to have the foresight and humility to accept the messages being expressed to us, without resorting to the usual excuses," Mr Gandhi told India Inc at the valedictory session of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) in New Delhi today. (
Read highlights of Rahul Gandhi's address)
"We will renew ourselves and will fight strong and confident in order to protect the values of tolerance and compassion that are the essence of India," said Mr Gandhi, clean-shaven and business-like, albeit dressed in his trademark black Nehru-jacked and white kurta. (
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He also said that corruption is the biggest issue that India faces. "Corruption is bleeding our people dry, it is unacceptable burden on the people of our nation," said Mr Gandhi. He said that United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government has faced a lot of criticism, "but it has done more to combat corruption than any other government".
"We have ensured convicted MPs are kept out of Parliament," he said adding that he had also learnt "not to ask for ordinances to be torn and thrown in the bin."
"Unfortunately, good news about this government doesn't seem to sell newspapers these days," Mr Gandhi said.
He began his 30-minute speech by highlighting his party's close relationship with the industry body. "Our relationship with you started since the time Mahatma Gandhi addressed FICCI," he reminded his audience.
The Congress vice president said controlling spiralling inflation and fighting poverty were the two main challenges facing the government today. "Poverty cannot be fought without growth. In 10 years, almost a third of Indian population has risen out of poverty," he said.