NiftyforAll: Weekly Review

Saturday, April 06, 2013

Weekly Review - 08.04.2013

Dear All,

Congress Vice-president Rahul Gandhi while addressing leaders of India Inc at an event in the national capital invoked the Bhagavad Gita, the sacred Hindu text, saying compassion was key to peace and development.

Gandhi was talking at the annual general meeting of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had also addressed the corporate honchos on the first day of the meet on Wednesday.

"Our idea is so big that it can take along people outside India also... the idea is compassion... Mahatma Gandhi said it, Buddha said it and it is written in the Gita also," Gandhi said.

The 42-year-old said the solution to the complex problems in India and the various resultant conflicts lay in listening to the people who have no voice and having more inclusive policies.

Gandhi's maiden interaction with industry leaders after he became the Congress vice president left them "impressed".

"It was a very good interaction. It sets the tone for future interaction. He spoke very broadly about various issues," said S. Gopalakrishnan, president designate, CII.

In his speech, Gandhi called for inclusive growth and closer cooperation between industry and the government. However, he did not touch upon the major macro-economic problems like inflation, slowdown in growth and ballooning current account and fiscal deficits.

Gopalakrishnan said the interaction was up to the expectations of the industry leaders. "This was his first engagement with the business community and he met the industry's expectation."

CII president Adi Godrej said Gandhi's ideas were brilliant and they should inspire industry and the government to work in unison.

Bharti Airtel chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal said the speech was rare and inspirational. "It was an outstanding speech... He understood importance of technology and inclusion, which gives us hope as future leader," Mittal said.

Reacting to the speech, Bajaj Group chairman Rahul Bajaj said the industrialists were captivated by Gandhi's interaction

BJP described Rahul Gandhi's speech at a CII programme as that of a "confused leader" which reflected fear of the emergence of Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi in national politics.

"Rahul's speech reflected that he lives in his own world. He was meant to answer what has happened in the nine years (of UPA rule) but there was no mention of corruption or inflation. Instead of answering questions, he was asking questions. It is a tacit admission that nothing has been done," BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar told reporters.

Modi is all set to address a Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) gathering next week following the interactions of the prime minister and the Gandhi scion with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

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