Rahul Gandhi today addressed Congress party workers and leaders for the first time as Congress President. In his speech, new Congress chief Rahul Gandhi laid out his vision of the Congress party and spoke about what his key areas of ficus will be. He also criticised the ruling BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Here are the highlights of Rahul Gandhi's first speech as Congress President:

• Like many Indians across the country, I am an idealist.
• Congress is an ancient idea. BJP would have you believe they are oldest idea in the universe, as usual this is not the truth. In India,there are 2 ideas that have clashed, idea of self vs the other. BJP are soldiers fighting for self. Congress guided by service of community.
• When I joined politics at 34, I learnt that moment you stand up for the poor and challenge those who hold the seat of power, they will come after you.
• Today we live in a time when India is being led by those who have regressive mindsets.
• These regressive forces win not because they deserve to, but because they are powerful and misuse that power.
• Congress took India to the 21st century, but the PM, today, is taking us back to medieval times. Today we see that the country being led by someone who thinks he alone represents India. While the Congress took India to the 21st century, he is taking India to the medieval ages, where you hear and see killings, hate and fires everyday. Nobody else seems to have a voice except him.
• Such people win only when no one stands up to them...when people back down. But I promise you this; we will never ever back down. We will always challenge them every step of the way.
  
• Politics belongs to the people, but today politics is not being used for people. It is not being used to uplift people, but is used to crush them.
• Many of us are disillusioned by the politics of our time. Today, politics is devoid of kindness and truth.
• We are now being compelled to imagine that businesses can be built without harmony that only one man himself is the voice of reason. Expertise, experience and knowledge can be cast aside for personal glory.
• I want the Congress party to act as an instrument of dialogue between the people of India. I want the Congress party to promote peace and harmony.
• Once fire breaks out it is difficult to douse it, that is what we are telling the people of BJP, that if you set the nation on fire it will be difficult to control. Today BJP has spread the fire of violence across the country.
  
• We try and try again to explain to the BJP that once you light the fire and divide the people, it will be very difficult to extinguish it. But they never listen, nor do they learn. All they do is promote hate and violence. They break, we join; they set fire, we douse it; they spread hate, we spread love; they divide, we bring people together. That is what tells us apart.
• The Congress is known as the 'grand old party', but we will now make it the 'grand old new party'.
• Unlike the BJP, which talk of a Congress-free India, our vision of inclusion for India also includes the BJP. Even those in the BJP are our brothers and sisters, though we might not agree with them. That is the difference between us and them. Unlike them, we do not respond to hate with hate. We respond to hate with love.
• It is with deepest humility, that I accept this position (of Congress President) knowing that I will always be walking in the shadow of giants.
  

(Rahul Gandhi makes his first speech as Congress President, laying out the vision for the Congress party for the years ahead)