New Delhi: Commenting on the frequently asked questions on marriage and becoming the Prime Minister of India, vice president of the Congress party Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said that such questions are “irrelevant” and “all smoke” .
Gandhi said, “I got press guys asking when you are getting married. Somebody else saying, boss, when are you going to be the Prime Minister. Somebody saying, no your are not going to be PM, somebody say may be you will be PM. There is good possibility.”
“It is like the American polling charts. 47.3 per cent of possibility that he might be Prime Minister…The only relevant question in this country is how can we give our people voice?” he said during his first address at the CII annual conference after becoming the vice president of the party.
Rahul Gandhi praised India Inc for doing a tremendous job in the last few years in building the image of the country.
Speaking at a plenary session on the second day of the meet, the 42-year-old Congress leader hailed the Indian industry stalwarts for their contribution to the growth of Indian economy and being the ambassador of “India’s energy to the world” .
Stressing on the growth potential of the country, Gandhi said, “India is bursting with dreams and ideas. The spirit of India has to move forward. We have to channelize the energy of India’s youngsters. We need better physical structure for India’s growth. Corporates must help government build infrastructure. Government private partnership is key to growth”.
Stating that India has the largest pool of human capital, the Gandhi family scion said, “Our problem is not joblessness; it is the lack of training and skills. Road to development cannot have potholes.”
Gandhi said, “We have to create an impartial and rule-based government system. Growth must include the poor, backwards, tribals”.
“It will be Very dangerous to leave people behind; inclusive growth is win-win for everyone,” said Gandhi.
The meeting is being attended by top business leaders and industrialists like Bharti Airtel head Sunil Bharti Mittal, Godrej Group Chairman Adi Godrej and Wipro Chairman Azim Premji.
The theme of this annual conference is “India of tomorrow: Imperatives of growth, security and Governance”.
Industry chamber CII’s annual general meetings over the years have seen many political bigwigs cutting across party lines making an appearance to enunciate their vision for economic growth. Congress president and Rahul’s mother Sonia Gandhi had made at least two showings at the annual conference in the past.
This year’s AGM was inaugurated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday.
In October 2012, Gandhi, 42, had taken some top industry honchos to Jammu and Kashmir to address the problem of unemployment being faced by the youth of the troubled state.
Earlier, Gandhi had taken Microsoft chief Bill Gates to his parliamentary constituency Amethi in 2010.
In 2008, he visited Japan along with party leader Sachin Pilot and National Conference chief Omar Abdullah (now Jammu and Kashmir’s chief minister) as part of a CII delegation.