Ushering in a revolution that would make India the number one manufacturing destination in the world would be part of his economic programme, said Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi, emphasising that the party’s economic agenda was fundamentally different from that of the BJP.
Speaking to > The Hindu in an exclusive interview that covered a range of issues, such as his intellectual influences, how his economic vision differs from BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi’s, his relations with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the “70-crore strong” population that has just come out of poverty, Rahul was scathing in his attack on his political rival.
“Modi’s strategy is to communalise and divide this class along religious lines. The BJP cannot mobilise this class effectively because the middlemen who mercilessly exploit this segment of workers are core supporters of the BJP and the RSS. They will not allow the condition of this class to improve,” he said. Rahul has been addressing the “ex-poor” — people who have barely come out of abject poverty, but are still vulnerable — as a political constituency, in this election.
Dismissing the suggestion that the Congress under him was more interested in redistribution and cared little for growth, he said: “I believe poverty cannot be fought without growth.”
“The only way India is going to move forward is through a partnership that includes both the interests of business as well as the interests of the poor. If you try to construct a Government that focuses only on business or focuses only on the poor, you will not take India forward,” Rahul said, adding that over the last 10 years his party had delivered the fastest economic growth, of over 7.5 per cent.
“We have built three times more roads than the NDA did, and we have doubled power generation capacity. But we have refused to compromise on the interests of the poor, the weak and the disadvantaged.”
Rahul said that the UPA Government’s work on industrial corridors is one step in the direction of creating “millions of new jobs for our youngsters.” Asked whether he was unlucky to be leading an election campaign in which the Congress is facing strong anti-incumbency, Rahul said: “I am not unlucky — I am honoured to lead the Congress Party’s 2014 campaign… Anti-incumbency is always a factor for any Government that has been in power for 10 years. But we are confident that the voters will reward us for the work we have done.”
Rahul made a distinction between forward-thinking business interests and crony capitalists while responding to a question on whether he found big business interests to be against him and his party.
“The Opposition leader’s (Modi’s) predilection to favour one or two business houses is nothing but crony capitalism and must be challenged. Such practices not only result in crores being lost but also signal to the rest of the world that India is not a level playing field. This is detrimental to the interest of creating a sound business environment in our country.
“Forward thinking, progressive business interests are firmly behind us. In this election, you see an icon of corporate India, Nandan Nilekani, fighting for the Congress’ vision in Bangalore,” he said.