Rahul Gandhi to India Inc at CII meet: India has an unstoppable tide of human aspiration

Rahul Gandhi is the only man on stage in a kurta among the suits as he addresses top industrialists at a gathering of the Confederation of Indian Industry. And for good reason. He is talking not numbers and economic data, but about "an unstoppable tide of human aspiration."

So the Congress number 2 stressed on building physical infrastructure, to facilitate the quick "movement of people and ideas." He talked about education, about systemic failures and about inclusive empowerment.

In his first ever public address to India Inc, a relaxed Mr Gandhi thanked industry honchos for making India a talking point globally, and hailed them as, "You are our front line, you are our ambassadors, you are the people at the cutting edge."

But he spoke in his jargon, not theirs, using anecdotes about the youth and migrant labour and travel by train to elucidate his points.

The Prime Minister spoke to CII yesterday and asked India Inc to have faith in his government's commitment to reversing the economic slowdown.

The Congress has dismissed suggestions that today's appearance is an attempt to counter Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, whose industry-friendly policies have won him large support and investment from some of India's biggest corporate houses.

Neither Mr Gandhi nor Mr Modi have been named by their parties as the prime ministerial candidate for the national election, which is scheduled for next year.  But already it is accepted that the campaigns will see them pitted against each other.

Mr Gandhi  was formally anointed Congress Vice-President in January, ensuring that only his mother, Sonia Gandhi, who heads the party is more senior to him.  He has faced criticism for failing to share his position on national issues.