New Delhi:
Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday interacted with the students of Stella Maris College in Chennai. During his address, Rahul Gandhi touch upon various issues starting from Pulwama attack to economic policies of the Modi government. However, Rahul also sparked a major row when he said that the policies of then Atal Bihari Vajpayee government set the valley on fire.
When asked about how Congress will solve the Kashmir problem if voted to power? Rahul Gandhi said that the UPA government between 2004- 2014 managed to curb terrorism. He went on to say that there was almost no problem in Kashmir when UPA was in power.
Addressing women students at the Stella Maris College, Rahul Gandhi said the Congress will change the mood of the country and make people feel happy and empowered. Gandhi, who asked students to refer to him as Rahul, said the law must apply to everybody and not be applied selectively.
He said this in response to a question on his brother-in-law Robert Vadra. In his informal interaction with the students, he also brought up the issue of the Rafale deal and reiterated his allegations about the pricing of the aircraft and the process.
"I will be the first person to say it... investigate Robert Vadra but also investigate Prime Minister Narendra Modi," he said. Gandhi said the Congress would pass the women's reservation bill it if it comes to power.
"Don't see enough women in leadership positions. You cannot have women in power in India until attitude towards them changes," he told the cheering crowd. In response to a question, he said he had learnt the lessons of humility and love from his mother Sonia Gandhi.
He asked the gathering, "Did you like demonetisaton?" When the audience answered, "No", he said, "I think it's pretty clear the damage demonetisaton did. PM should have taken your advice."
Gandhi, who asked the students to challenge him and "make him uncomfortable", also questioned whether the prime minister could stand in a large audience and answer people's questions.
Here are the highlights of Rahul Gandhi's interaction with the students:
Crony capatilism is the biggest hinderence for the growth of India, says Rahul Gandhi.
P Chidambaram determined the economic future of this country for 10 years: Congress president Rahul Gandhi.
Modi governent has North centric view, says Congress president Rahul Gandhi.
Today's government has North India specific focus, says PM Modi.
We are convinced that India is spending very little money on education. We will increase the allocation to education to 6 per cent: Rahul Gandhi.
There is an ideological battle in the country today and they are sharply divided. One ideology is a unifying one that believes, the country should not be dominated by any one idea. No state should feel oppressed: Congress President Rahul Gandhi.
Government has every right to investigate every person. Law should apply to everybody equally,not selectively. PM Modi has his name in govt documents that say he is directly responsible for negotiating parallelly with Dassault on Rafale. Investigate everybody, be it Mr Vadra or PM: Rahul Gandhi.
How many of you have had the opportunity to ask him 'Mr Prime Minister what do you think about education? What do you think about this? What do you think about that?' Why doesn't Prime Minister have the guts to stand in front of 3000 women & be questioned by them?: Rahul Gandhi.
How many times have you seen the Prime Minister of India standing in the middle of 3000 women like this? How many times have you seen him standing here like this being open to any question from anybody?: Rahul Gandhi.
The policies of Atal Bihari Vajpayee set Jammu and Kashmir on fire, says Rahul Gandhi.
Everybody is the asset of India, says Rahul Gandhi at Stella Maris College.
The other ideology represented by the current govt and PM where they believe that one idea should be imposed on our country. They have a particular view about role of women in our society, different languages and cultures are inferior to one centralising culture and idea, says Rahul Gandhi.
There is currently an ideological battle going in India. It's sharply divided b/w two ideologies. One ideology is a unifying ideology which says that all people of the country should live together and shouldn't be dominated by one idea
