New Delhi : Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi today spelt out the vision for a new self-reliant India with special focus on youth. He called for youth to be at the forefront of mobility revolution, which is being driven by four technologies – electric motors, batteries, optics and application of Artificial Intelligence. He said that India cannot afford that Chinese are at the forefront of this revolution.
He also flagged the presence of Chinese army inside India territory, saying it was cause of concern, although the Prime Minister had denied it.
Speaking during the discussion on motion of thanks to the President’s address in the Lok Sabha today, Rahul Gandhi observed that the future of India is to be decided by the youth of this country and so if INDIA bloc had to deliver Presidential Address, it would be addressed to them. We would make our youngsters partners in the mobility revolution. We would say to them that “we believe in you that you can take on the Chinese”. He said, the successive governments had failed the youth, whether it was the UPA government earlier or the NDA government now.
“The universal problem we have faced is that we have not been able to tackle the problem of unemployment. Neither the UPA nor the NDA government did it”, he remarked.
Observing that the ‘Make in India’ was a good idea, but it failed, he was not blaming the Prime Minister but the fact is that he failed in it. He pointed out that manufacturing has fallen to 12.6 percent of the GDP from 15.3 percent of GDP and is the lowest in 60 years.
Referring to the challenge posed by China, he said, “any country basically organises two things: consumption and production. The modern way of organising consumption is services, and the modern way of organising production is manufacturing. But there is more to production than just manufacturing. We have, as a country, failed in organising production”.
“We have excellent companies that try to organise production, but essentially, what we have done is we have handed over the organisation of production to the Chinese”, he said.
Showing his mobile phone, he said, “this mobile phone, even though we say we make this mobile phone in India, that is not a fact. This phone is not made in India. This phone is assembled in India. All the components of this phone are made in China”, he added.
Gandhi said that China had occupied Indian territory, adding that although the Prime Minister had denied it, but the Army Chief had contradicted him (the PM). “Our Chief of Army Staff said that the Chinese are inside our territory”, Gandhi claimed.
He attributed Chinese aggression to India’s economic weakness saying, “the reason China is sitting inside this country is because ‘Make in India’ has failed. The reason China is sitting inside this country is because India is refusing to produce, and I am worried that India is going to give up the mobility revolution to the Chinese”.
Referring to the US as a strategic partner, Gandhi said, the partnership should focus on how both countries can work together to take advantage of the mobility revolution. He said, India is as important as the US and it (US) cannot build an industrial production system without India.
“Americans cannot do what India can do. Cost structure is very expensive there.”, he said.
The Leader of Opposition also raised the issue of humongous increase in the number of voters in Maharashtra between Lok Sabha and the Vidhan Sabha elections and asked the Election Commission to share the data of both the elections with the Congress, Shiv Sena-UBT and NCP-SP.
He disclosed that between the Lok Sabha election, in which the INDIA Alliance won in Maharashtra, and the Vidhan Sabha election, the population of Himachal Pradesh was added to the voter roll of Maharashtra. “This means the entire population of Himachal Pradesh was added to the voter rolls of Maharashtra. Almost 70 lakh new voters suddenly appeared between the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections”, he pointed out, while observing there was some problem about it.
Reiterating and reaffirming his commitment to the “caste census”, while quoting the figures from the Telangana caste census, he said it has revealed that the OBCs, the Dalits, the Adivasis and the minorities constitute about 90 percent of the population there, which may hold true for the entire country.
Calling for Defence of Democratic Institutions and Electoral Transparency, Gandhi emphasized the need for a robust defence of India’s democratic institutions and a comprehensive review of the democratic framework. Highlighting concerns over the erosion of institutional integrity, Gandhi questioned the removal of the Chief Justice of India from the committee responsible for appointing the Election Commissioner. He argued that this move undermines the balance of power and transparency in the electoral process.
Concluding his speech, Gandhi called for a clear vision and strategy from the government, urging leaders to focus on substantive issues rather than superficial promises. He appealed to the youth of India to demand accountability and a renewed commitment to democratic principles, emphasizing that the strength of the nation lies in its institutions and the trust of its people.
