New Delhi:
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh addressed the All India Congress Committee meet being held at Talkatora stadium in New Delhi today.
Here are the highlights:- This is an important session because it will help the party prepare for 2014 polls
- No reason to lose hope after poor showing in the recent elections in 5 states
- I have no doubt that if we prepare well and inform people about the government's achievements, we will win
- We must tell the people that Congress is the only party that can provide an inclusive, secular India
- Opposition making tall claims which are impossible to fulfill
- Economic growth will remain at 5 per cent this year
- We are trying hard to improve our economic growth
- We aren't the only country which witnessed a slowdown, other developing countries faced problems too
- In the last year, Cabinet passed 5 lakh crore project
- We have always catered to women, poor
- Women's security has been our prime focus. Several sexual harassment policies and laws have been implemented
- No matter where we pitch the poverty line but poverty rates are definitely decreasing
- Officers are afraid of taking decisions because they fear being questioned by the CAG
- We're trying to remove obstacles in the decision-making process
- Due to rapid economic growth, resources with the state governments have also increased.
- Many states that were previously backward are now growing at a fast pace
- Education: Primary, Secondary and Higher services have been developed
- Almost all children now attend schools and get a midday meal
- Many new institutions have been opened
- Skill development has also been our focus. We plan to train 5 crore youths. It is true that inflation is on the rise
- But people who produce vegetables etc. have benefitted from the price rise
- Salaries have also increased dramatically
- In the last 10 years, our youth have been empowered by social media
- People want better services from government offices
- On Corruption: Never before has there been as much transparency as there is now
- Lokpal is a good step to curb corruption
- We have made mistakes but we have always tried to learn and work on them
- We must focus on areas that need more attention
- These problems won't be solved by mere sloganeering. We need a vision that will be inclusive and only Congress has this vision
- I have no doubt that under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi we will achieve success in the upcoming 2014 Lok Sabha polls