Rahul Gandhi
"There is a work that my father had started, a dream he had dreamt. I come to you today saying allow me to turn that dream into reality" - Rahul Gandhi
The name Rahul Gandhi has become synonymous with the new face of Indian politics; a young brand, a messiah of the poor, a highly motivated scion of the Gandhi family, aiming to highlight India's position as a global frontrunner.
He was 14 when his grandmother, Smt.Indira Gandhi, was assassinated, and 21 when his father Shri Rajiv Gandhi was killed in a Tamil Tiger terrorist attack on a Congress election rally. After completing a post-graduate degree at Cambridge, he joined a London management consultancy firm and drifted between jobs before finally accepting an offer to stand for India's Lok Sabha lower chamber of parliament.
In an interview as he campaigned for his mother's own Uttar Pradesh by-election in 2006, he said it was his father's assassination that convinced him to follow in his footsteps
Having been born into a family that has had a major influence on the course India took after winning independence from the British settlers, Rahul is no stranger to the world of politics.
In March 2004, he announced his entry into politics by contesting the May 2004 elections from Amethi in Uttar Pradesh for the Lok Sabha. In his first interview with media, he condemned "divisive" politics in India, saying that he would try to reduce caste and religious tensions.
In January 2006, at a convention of the Indian National Congress in Hyderabad, thousands of party members asked for Gandhi to take a more prominent leadership role in the party and demanded that he address the delegates. He said "I appreciate and I am grateful for your feelings and support. I assure you I will not let you down", but asked for patience and declined to immediately seek a high profile role
Shri Rahul Gandhi was appointed a General Secretary of the All India Congress Committee on 24 September 2007 in a reshuffle of the party secretariat. In the same reshuffle, he was also given charge of the Youth Congress and the National Students Union of India. Rahul Gandhi implemented some innovative methodologies in the process of choosing leadership in Youth Congress. Rahul Gandhi toured the country with a mission to strengthen the Youth Congress and NSUI. He held interaction sessions with the young buds in various colleges and universities. This new approach helped create a fresh enthusiasm among the young party workers and sympathizers. Rahul Gandhi always believed that unless the youth of this country become active in Indian politics and be a part in the process of development, India cannot prosper further.
In 2009 elections, I was actively involed in the Uttar Pradesh Politics and working at the grass root level in the western Uttar Pradesh. I have seen myself the love of a common man for the Gandhi family. When Shri Rahul ji was coming to Moradabad on May 9, 2009 to address the public meeting of congress candidate Mohammed Azharuddin, I could see the sea of humanity all over and I was convinced that the people of UP wanted a change and the Congress won 21 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh in 2009. This could become possible due to the singular effort of Shri Rahul ji. The beauty of Rahul ji is, he never makes any statement for political gains. Unfortunately, it has become a practice in the Indian Politics that whatever the Congress party does, the opposition simply criticizes and try to mislead the people and this is not the way the politics should run in the largest democracy in the world. Rahul ji is always calm and believes in action. He is a no non sense man. He has made a point straight that he will never compromise on the unity and integrity of the country and will fight the divisive and the fascist forces, until they are defeated in their aims and the objectives. He believes that unless one practices what one preaches, his/her words will not have an impact. He believes that more and more YOUTH should join politics and in order to encourage them, he initated the process of the internal democracy in the party against all odds and with a lot of opposition from the old block within the party, he went ahead and achieved the desired results.
Shri Rahul Gandhi’s vision of ‘Internal Democracy’ in the Congress party’s Youth and the Students’ wings has resulted in reforms and transformations never seen before. From open memberships to internal elections under impartial observers, the young Gandhi aims to infuse transparency and the concept of talent management and performance measurement in the organisation, a huge effort to herald a positive change in one of India’s oldest political parties.
We have been witnessing good economic growth and all round development since the time UPA came into government in 2004 but India still needs to go a very long way and we need many more reforms. The present UPA government is doing extremely well on all fronts despite the political compulsions of a collision which speaks volumes about the commitment of the present UPA government and its Chairperson Smt.Sonia Gandhi. The Congress Party has been able to reach the common man through the schemes of the UPA and the appeal and charishma of Rahul Gandhi. Excellent foundation was laid down by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and the good work was continued by courageous Indira ji. When the time had come to shift our policy to compete with the global forces, we have embraced liberalization holding an upper hand in key areas of public importance and it led India to a new path, the path of development and progress. We have been witnessing robust FDI, employment to the highly qualified Indians in India and the chain impact When the country’s secularism was facing the threat from the right wing forces and the minorities had started feeling insecured in our own country, Smt.Sonia Gandhi, though not politically very inclined stepped out of her house and took the mentle in her hands to champion the cause of minorities and to defeat the intention of the fascist forces who were out to malign not only the image of a secular India, but to spread the hatred among the peace loving Hindus and the muslims. Smt. Sonia Gandhi has taken the lead in her own style and started re-building exercise of the nation which was otherwise going to become from a Secular India to a Communal India at the hands of the right wing forces.
When she entered the politics, the BJP and its allies started alleging that she is out to grab the power, but she proved all of them wrong that she is not her for power but to serve the country and the nation. She had got the opportunity to become the Prime Minister of the country twice once in 2004 and then again in 2009, and on both the occasions, she never accepted the post.
It is for sure and I strong believe that the people of this country are very eager to see Shri Rahul Gandhi as the Prime Minister of the country. Many believe that Shri Rahul Gandhi is the only hope of this country to bring the required reforms and take India to the next level with the genext. It is time that India needs a charismatic and young leader in future and the leader of the future India is Rahul Gandhi, under whose leadership, the country will grow and prosper, the minorities will feel secured, the poor and downtrodden will get meaning of a new life, the youth will get their leader. And That’s Rahul Gandhi.
Khaleequr Rahman
