New Delhi: The Congress was upbeat over Lop Rahul Gandhi’s speech in the Lok Sabha on Monday and termed it iconic, visionary and befitting of a national leader.
Congress leaders further said Rahul’s speech during a debate on the presidential address was statesman-like and would put pressure on PM Modi to reply to the discussion in equal measure on Tuesday evening.
“The LoP’s speech can easily be described as visionary and iconic. He was statesman-like, played constructive politics and presented a development-oriented vision for the country. He did not criticise the president’s address but simply outlined what the government’s outlook should have been,” Congress MP Hibi Eden told ETV Bharat.
According to Eden, Rahul’s speech was statesman-like as he “touched upon the key issue of job creation for the youth and even acknowledged that not enough was done to address the problem during the previous UPA government instead of just blaming the NDA government.”
The Kerala MP further said, “The LoP flagged India’s China problem and the ways to deal with it while presenting his vision to boost the Indian economy. We need to become a stronger economy to stand up to China.”
Edan slammed Rahul’s critics saying they were playing old-school politics. “The LoP’s speech has sent out a clear message among the people and pm Modi will have to shape his reply to the presidential debate accordingly. The treasury benches belong to the old school and are therefore targeting our leader. But just attacking the opposition would not help the people.”
Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi felt the LoP’s speech needed to be heard several times over.
“The LoP outlined a new vision for India. This vision is important given the influence of China on our borders and our industrial supply chains. Truly, India has to be at the forefront of technology, especially in drones, batteries, electric motors and sensors. As our leader pointed out we have to harness the potential of the Indian youth and inspire them to new heights. For this we have to have an open and inclusive society where the marginalized castes and tribes have access to opportunity and empowerment,” Gogoi told ETV Bharat.
Rahul’s speech invited appreciation from his sister and fellow lawmaker Priyanka Gandhi Vadra who said the Lop spoke like a national leader as he talked about the nation and she was very happy over the remarks.
According to party leaders, besides joblessness, the LoP flagged other pressing challenges facing the country like the need to push the manufacturing sector, reduce dependence on Chinese goods, adopt future technologies like electric motors, batteries, optics, and Artificial Intelligence, address the Make in India program’s shortcomings and bring down rising social tensions.
“The BJP frequently invokes the names of national icons Sardar Patel and Dr Ambedkar, yet it does not adhere to their principles in practice. The share of manufacturing in India's GDP has declined from 15.3 per cent to 12.6 per cent—the lowest in the past 60 years. This has impacted job creation in the country,” said Eden.
