Indian National Congress(INC)Meet In New Delhi Friday Jan 17,2014

The Congress meet in Delhi today tried to shake off the atmosphere of an anti-climax as senior party leaders including Congress president Sonia Gandhi took the stage for an all-day strategy meet on the national election that's due by May 2014

Rahul Gandhi,the 43-year-old will be Congress party's campaign chief for the national election in three months, it was decided at the meeting of the Congress Working Committee on Thursday Jan 16,2014. Though he is not the party's official candidate for PM, many see him as the obvious one

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh addressed the All India Congress Committee meet being held at Talkatora stadium in New Delhi

Highlights of the PM Dr Manmohan Singh Speech 

• 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

The full text of Congress President Sonia Gandhi's speech

Even after Sonia Gandhi reasserted her decision not to name son Rahul as Congress' prime ministerial candidate, thousands of party workers at a conclave in Delhi today made it clear they wouldn't take 'no' for an answer.

Slogans of "Rahul Gandhi Zindabad' kept drowning out proceedings intermittently, forcing the Congress president to firmly tell the gathering that the decision she took on Thursday was final. The moment she ended her opening address, however, the chants of 'Rahul, Rahul' were back.

Highlights of Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi Speech

1. I am a soldier of the Congress. Will do whatever the party wants me to do. (But) Congress constitution says MPs choose the prime minister after elections.
2. We are warriors, and we will go into battle with our heads held high, knowing what we stand for. I will do anything you want me to, I am a loyal soldier.
3. The Opposition has good marketing skills. There is "chamak, naach, gaana (glitter, dancing, singing)". They are selling combs to bald men. Now there are a new group of people who are trying to give them haircuts.
4. Laws are being made now by the media, by judges, in the streets - we need to involve you, the elected representatives, once again in law-making. This is your domain.
5. Opposition says India should be Congress-free. But Congress is not an organization. It's a philosophy that stands for the rights and dignity of every individual in this country.
6. Democracy is not rule by one man. We don't hand over the structure of a party to one man.
7. We do not respond by subverting democratic institutions, blocking Parliament sessions year after year, day after day. We do not respond by turning people against one and other, by lighting the fire of communal violence.
8. Pradhan mantri-ji (Prime Minister, Sir), we cannot make do with just nine subsidized cylinders of cooking gas. Women in this country need more. We need 12 per family, sir, please increase the quota.
9. I want to see 50% women at AICC sessions, in Parliament and among chief ministers of state governments.
10. This is not about yet another election; it is a turning point in our nation's history. The change that is taking place before us is unstoppable