Kolkata, Sept 16: Citing his own example, Rahul Gandhi says that without political ties or connections one cannot aspire to enter Indian politics but he wants an end to this phenonomenon. "If you don't have a name, connections and friends at the proper places, you cannot come in," Gandhi told a press conference here on Thursday.
"Main uska udaharan hun, keh chuka hun, bahut bar keh chuka hun, (I am an example of it, I have said this many times)," he said. Stating that the political hierarchy moved from top to bottom and was closed, Gandhi said "this structural problem has to be corrected.
"The membership drive is only a part of the whole process. After the drive we will guarantee free and fair elections. There will be no nomination or quota," he said.
Stating that the young comprising 70 per cent of India was not in politics, he said "I have been given responsibility of the Youth Congress and NSUI with the objective to bring the youth into politics." The effect of his countrywide drive which has already covered ten states, Gandhi said, would be visible within five or six years.
Stating that the Opposition had earlier been sceptical about the success of his drive, he said they have now stopped making a mention of this after seeing its effect.
"In Tamil Nadu, we had 35,000 youth members, but after the drive was taken up it has risen to 14.5 lakhs," he said.
Asked whether he would take the drive to Jammu and Kashmir, which is facing unrest in the Valley, Gandhi said "I will go to Jammu and Kashmir when the drive goes there. "We need to bring the youth of Kashmir into the political system," Gandhi said. PTI
