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Rahul Gandhi in US: Divisive politics threatening peace, tolerance in India

Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi, Who Is On United States Tour, Addressed Non-resident Indians In New York On Wednesday Night (Thursday IST).

News Nation Bureau | Edited By : Arshi Aggarwal | Updated on: 21 Sep 2017, 07:02:03 AM

New Delhi:

Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi, who is on United States tour, addressed non-resident Indians in New York on Wednesday night (Thursday IST). 

This is his second key address after Princeton University where he raised concerns on employment generation rate, economic race with China and gender equality. 

He asserted that the Centre had been unable to deliver on the 30,000 jobs it promised to create every day.

"Those same people who got angry with us because we couldn't deliver on those 30,000 jobs (a day) are going to get angry with Mr Modi," said the Congress leader at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School.

Read | Congress could not deliver on 30,000 jobs, neither can Modi: Rahul Gandhi

Here are the highlights of Rahul Gandhi's address to NRIs in New York: 

#On Indians as national builders: 

I went from SF to LA to Washington to NY. I addressed Berkeley, Princeton; wherever I went, you made me feel proud to be Indian

Everywhere you look there is an Indian working for America&India, living peacefully, building both countries. You are our backbone

People view India as a geographical construct, I view India as a set of ideas. Anybody who has ideas that make India is an Indian

#On lack of tolerance in India: 

We have many religions, languages living happily together. The reason they have been able to do so are ideas of the Congress party

Biggest questions raised outside India: What happened to tolerance that used to prevail in India? What happened to the harmony?

For 1000s of years, India has had a reputation of peace & harmony. There are forces dividing India & ruining our reputation abroad

India's reputation is very important. Countries in a violent world believe we have answers for peaceful coexistence in 21st century

Our most important asset is that 1.3 bn people live together peacefully. India belongs to all of us, & that is what the Congress is

#Congress's vision 

Congress Party is 130 years old, but we don't represent an organisation, we represent a philosophy more than a 1000 years old

Friends in BJP say nothing happened, but the milk India drinks came from an NRI Mr Kurien. 1000 more examples like this 

#On IT and health sector 

There is huge opportunity for India to be world's healthcare centre, we have to plan for it. Not talking about health tourism alone

Similar vision for IITs. If we connect our IITs to industry, businesses across the world, they will start to compete with the best

 

Rahul Gandhi's speech in New York faced friction from Sikh groups protesting 1984 riots 

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First Published : 21 Sep 2017, 06:54:18 AM

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