Speech by Rahul Gandhi on BUDGET 2006 - 07

Speech by Rahul Gandhi
BUDGET 2006-07

Mr. Speaker Sir, thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak in support of the Budget 2006-2007.

It is my understanding that this House may not find the time to discuss Demands for Grants for Human Resource Development. Therefore, Sir, I have taken the liberty to focus on education in the general debate.

Today, India is emerging as a global power. We are poised to grow at 8 percent. This achievement is built on the dreams of millions of people. It is built on the dreams of our leaders. It is built on the dreams of our teachers. But most importantly, it is built on the aspirations of our students.

Equally, we owe our success to our toiling masses, to our farmers and workers. I salute them. But it is not enough to salute them. We must work for an India where a son does not remain tied to his father's past, where a daughter has the opportunity to do something her mother could only dream of Education is the key to achieving this.

Sir, as I travel around the country, I have come to realise that education is not about schools, colleges or universities. It is about dreams and aspirations. A successful education system must do two things. It must allow all young Indians to dream, and it must teach them the skills to turn those dreams into reality.

About a year ago I visited a village school. I walked up to one of the children and asked him, "Beta bade hokar kya bano ge?"  The silent stare I got in reply disturbed me. In school after school, I have asked this question and got no answer. Many students, teachers and parents believe that our school system is a dead-end. In village after village, there are children who don't have the opportunity to go to school. Many parents are convinced only the rich can go to university. As I speak, Sir, our education system is crushing the aspirations of these children.

But I have also visited schools where every child aspires to greatness; schools that struggle against adversity and keep dreams alive. There are village schools where the same system which destroys aspirations elsewhere makes the child of a landless labourer dream of becoming a software engineer. I have been moved by children in a school for the blind who spoke to me about their dreams. There are IIT graduates who run billion-dollar companies. As. I speak, our education system is fuelling the aspirations of these people.

Why do we have this paradox? This must be addressed.

As a government, we must inspire our children to dream. To do this we need to focus on two big ideas. First, we must ensure that our education system reaches as many students as possible. Second, we must improve the quality of our education system by increasing accountability.

The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and the Midday Meal Scheme attack the first problem. The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan helps young children, including girls, who otherwise might not get an education. The Midday Meal Scheme, the largest such program in the world, allows poor parents to send their children to school.

Since it came to power, the UPA Government under the leadership of our Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, has more than tripled the money for both programs. Over the last two years, these programs have reduced out-of-school children by 39 lakhs. This is nothing short of a revolution. I am confident that the basic foundation of our rural and urban poor shall be enriched beyond our expectations. Mr. Speaker Sir, the importance that this government gives to education in U.P. and Bihar is reflected in the fact that 50% of the total money goes to these two states alone. The real impact of this program needs to be made in the villages of U.P. and Bihar.

We have made progress in primary education. But according to estimates, only 39% of children go to secondary school and only 6% of our children actually go to college. The government, NGOs and the private sector must work together to change this. Secondary and higher education must become widely available to all our children and must provide options for vocational and technical training.

Sir, government statistics show that in same Northern states, on average, a child takes over 10 years to complete primary school.

I am not questioning the ability of our students. What I am talking about is the quality and accountability of our schools. This lack of quality is particularly harmful because it discriminates against poor children. A rich student has alternatives. For a poor student a bad school is the end of the road.

I am new to politics and still have a lot to learn. But if there is one thing I have learnt it is that people who are closer to a problem understand it best. Empower them. Make them accountable and you will get results.

Community institutions can play a powerful role in-improving the quality of local schools. Teacher absenteeism and poor performance are major problems. Handing decision-making to parents and communities directly affected by the problem, is our best bet at solving it. There is enough evidence from our own country to support this.

As we emerge as a global power, our higher education and vocational training can no longer function in a vacuum. Two years ago, I visited a university in a Northeastern state. I met a university topper who was unemployed! Now here is an exceptional person. A person who has followed the path laid out for him perfectly. After 15 years of hard work he discovers that our system has led him nowhere. It has crushed his dreams.

Sir, we cannot afford to judge universities and vocational training institutes simply by the number of degrees they give out. We must also start judging them by the number and quality of jobs that their students get.

To give people productive employment, education needs to be connected to the job market. Our education system has to deepen its links with industry, with research & development, with technology and with finance. It is only by building these links that we will move from creating job seekers to entrepreneurs.

Sir, the fact is that in order to increase the scale and quality of our education system we need financial resources. For this, we have to think in innovative ways.

The UPA Government has more than doubled spending on education. The Prarambhik Shiksha Kosh, to which Rs. 8,746 crores is being added in 2006-07, is a significant step forward.

The "Statement on Revenue Foregone" points out that a figure of Rs. 158 thousand crores has been foregone by the government as a result of "departures from the normal tax regime." Mentioning this figure, for the first time, is a positive step. It would be very helpful, if the Government could elaborate on how it intends to act on this information. This is important because even if we are able to reduce revenue foregone by 15%, it will raise enough money to double our country's allocation for education.

Finally the development of India as a global educational hub could be a new way of expanding our higher education system. Today we are recognised as leaders in higher education. The United States and the United Kingdom together earn over Rs. 50,000 crores from Asian students studying there. This is more than twice our entire educational budget per year. Can we not try to capture some of this revenue to supplement and grow our higher education system? Nalanda and Vikramashila were the Harvard and Cambridge of their day. Why can't we revive this tradition?

But I do want to stress that whatever we do, no Indian girl or boy should be deprived of higher education because they cannot afford it. This is the primary responsibility of the government.

Mr. Speaker Sir, every human endeavour starts with an aspiration, a dream, a belief.

Sir, we stand in this House as representatives of the people of India. We do so, because we believe in our people. We believe in our future.

It is the responsibility of all of us to ensure that every child dreams, and that every child has the skills to turn those dreams into reality. Let us ensure that every child is able to answer the question "Bade hokar kya bano ge?"

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for this opportunity to put forward my views.

Rahul Gandhi Speech on BUDGET 2008-09

BUDGET 2008-09

MARCH 13 , 2008

Mr. Speaker Sir, thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak in support of the budget 2008-2009.

Each one of us is responsible for listening to the people of India and reflecting their voices in this august house. It is therefore a privilege for me to put forth my views here today.

Mr. Speaker Sir, there are two distinct voices among India’s people today. The louder of these voices comes from an India that is empowered, an India that has proven to itself and to the world that it will shape the future. It is an India rich with opportunity and talent, straining to be unleashed.

The other voice is yet to be empowered. It is not as loud, but reverberates across the country. It is the voice of disenfranchised people reminding us that they too have potential to fulfil. They too are enterprising, hardworking, and self-reliant, and they ask only to be given an opportunity.

Some believe that the progress of these two India’s is not just separable but mutually exclusive. Some believe that India can shine only when we direct attention and resources to those Indians who already soar, while ignoring the aspirations of the disempowered. Others believe that the poor will progress only if we stifle our nation’s entrepreneurial energy.

Our government believes that India’s growth can and must be symbiotic. The two India’s are fundamentally inseparable. Our philosophy is not to choose which India to nurture, but to grow together.

There are two reasons for this view.

First, the poverty of our people is an assault on our principles. Freedom from poverty is not a matter of charity or luck; it is a right. I am proud that under the leadership of the Prime Minister, our government has recognized and institutionalized this idea. The NREGA delivers employment as a right. The Tribal Act delivers ownership of land as a right. The RTI Act delivers information as a right. The Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill seeks to deliver basic minimums rights to those being displaced.

Second, the speed and continuity of our economic growth depend on inclusion. A small, resource-rich section of India cannot grow indefinitely while a vast, disempowered nation looks on. If opportunity is limited to a few, our growth will be a fraction of our capability as a nation.

Mr. Speaker Sir, permit me to give an example to illustrate why it is crucial to connect these two India’s:

On the one hand we have thousands of young Indians looking for jobs. On the other we have a galloping industry with massive manpower demand. But we have invested too little in developing the skills of our youth. This renders them unqualified to do the jobs our industries require.

Indian enterprise will realize its full potential not by distancing itself from the poor, but by fully connecting with their aspirations.

Mr. Speaker Sir, the true magnitude of our economic potential will only be realized when the voices of the empowered and the aspiring speak as one. This is the core of our ‘aam aadmi’ agenda.

I compliment the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister for giving us a budget that stays true to this goal.

A strong voice begins with effective education. The allocation of Rs 34,400 crores to education will allow for 2 lakh more teachers and 5 lakh more classrooms. It will also provide for programs such as mid-day meals, means based scholarships and schools for girls so that the most vulnerable voices are clearly heard. Our investments in expanding IITs, IIMs and other institutions of higher learning will ensure that our brightest minds continue to shine on the world stage. The budget invests extensively in vocational education and the creation of a National Skills Development Organization. This will ensure that our technical training institutions will respond effectively to the voice of our youth.

Mr. Speaker Sir, permit me to reflect on a subject critical to our nation’s future. The UPA government has given the nation an education budget 3 and a half times what it inherited. However, we must acknowledge that there are deep structural issues with our delivery infrastructure. It is my conviction that our schools and universities will become worthy of our nation’s voice only when the education sector undergoes a revolution of the kind we saw in telecommunications.

Returning to the budget at hand. A child’s voice is much stronger when it is healthy, well fed and sheltered. Our Government has recognized and provided for this. The Rs 16,500 crores allocated to health will help combat illness and disease. Allocations to programs such as Bharat Nirman, the Indira Awaas Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana and Rajiv Gandhi National Drinking Water Mission are delivering to Indians everywhere a minimum standard of life.

The budget pays special attention to the poor and makes provisions to support our most marginalized people. The allocation planned for NREGA will take the program nation wide and give every eligible Indian access to basic social support. The allocation to the Backward Regions Grant Fund will allow us to correct inequalities by directly targeting devastated and chronically neglected regions such as Bundelkhand and K-B-K.

This year’s budget has especially heeded the plea of the debt-ridden farmer. A historic decision has been taken to free 40 million of our poorest farmers from the bonds of indebtedness. This decision has corrected a grave injustice and given our small and marginal farmers the ability to look to the future with hope.

Mr. Speaker Sir, our nation’s social objectives are being achieved without burdening the economy or the taxpayer. Our economy has grown at 8.8% under the stewardship of the Prime Minister. The UPA government continues to bolster economic growth. The exemption threshold for personal income tax has been raised to Rs. one lakh fifty thousand. The government maintains its sharp focus on enabling enterprise through the creation of infrastructure. For example, the allocation for road transport and highways has risen 70% to Rs. 17,550 crores during the tenure of our government. The continued emphasis on Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission encourages states to build urban infrastructure capable of absorbing the massive migration to our cities.

Mr. Speaker Sir, I would like to put forward some suggestions.

The loan waiver brings tremendous relief to our farmers. I have discussed the scheme with several experts and would like to make two points.

First, the current ceiling of 2 hectares for eligible farmers does not account for land productivity and excludes deserving farmers in poorly irrigated areas. I refer specifically to dry land areas like Vidarbha. Perhaps, Sir, we could consider making the land ceiling variable based upon land productivity.

Second, in some parts of the country, the cropping cycles are such that the bulk of loans have been taken after the cut-off date of March 31, 2007. A single cut-off date unfairly penalizes farmers in these regions. Sir, it would greatly help if localized cut- off dates were considered so that every deserving farmer benefits from the waiver.

Finally, Sir, I would like to make a few suggestions regarding service delivery, accountability and transparency in institutions and programs.

Recently, some colleagues and I conducted an evaluation of NREGA in our constituencies and high-performing states. We compiled a set of recommendations that we presented to the Honourable Prime Minister. Mr. Speaker Sir, I humbly submit to the Finance Minister that a host of government programs would be better implemented if funds transfers were linked to achieving RTI and social audit objectives.

Sir, the budget establishes total financial inclusion as a key objective, and specifically targets SHGs as instruments to access credit. Sir, building SHGs is a resource- intensive process. I humbly request the Finance Minister to consider budgetary provisions and incentives to encourage states to build SHG networks which comprehensively cover the poor.

Finally, Sir, in dwelling upon accountability and transparency, I cannot omit to mention our Panchayati Raj Institutions. Panchayati Raj brings the voice of even the poorest Indian into decisions shaping their lives. Therefore, Mr. Speaker Sir, I humbly urge the Finance Minister to place PRIs at the centre of program implementation and create incentives for states to do the same.

With that, Mr. Speaker, Sir, I conclude my submission by once again complimenting the Prime Minister and the UPA government on a landmark budget.

Thank You.

Rahul Gandhi Speech during the debate on the Motion of Confidence in the Lok Sabha on July 22, 2008

Together We Can Change This Country And Impact The World
Rahul Gandhi

(Speech during the  debate on the Motion of Confidence in the Lok Sabha on July 22, 2008)

Mr. Speaker, Sir, thank you for letting me speak on behalf of the Government. Yesterday, while I was thinking about what I would say in this House, I came to a simple conclusion. I decided that it is important at this point not to speak as a Member of a political Party, but to speak as an Indian. I decided, as I said, that I would not speak as a member of a political party but I would speak as an Indian.

You are also an Indian and you should also speak as an Indian.   I would go further to say that you do speak as an Indian and I do not doubt that.  So, I decided that what I would do is that I would take a step that a lot of our politicians normally do not do. 

I decided that I will make a central assumption in my speech. The assumption is that everybody in this House, regardless of which party they come from, whether they come from the BJP or the Shiv Sena or the Samajwadi Party or the BSP or the Congress Party, speak in the interest of the nation.   So, I would like to say that this is the assumption that I will make throughout my speech.

Yesterday, I thought about why we are meeting here today, why is it that this House needs to meet and I came to the conclusion that we are meeting because there is a serious problem in India and the problem is our energy security.

Poverty is directly connected to energy security and I will explain how. In my speech, I will explain to the hon. Member as to how poverty is directly connected to energy security.   Once again, I would request everybody to give me ten minutes and to listen to me for ten minutes.  That is all I ask for.

 Three days ago, I went to Vidarbha and there, I met a young lady who has three sons.  The young lady, Sasikala, a landless labourer, lives with Rs. 60 a day. Her husband who goes to work in a field nearby earns Rs. 90 a day and with the total earning that they make, they have put their three children in a private school.  I spent an hour with these people.  They live in a slum.  I spoke to the sons and I spoke to the mother.  The eldest son dreams of becoming a Collector, the middle son dreams of becoming an engineer and the younger son wants to do a private job.   When I asked Sasikala as to whether she thinks that her children will be successful or not, she looked at me and said “Absolutely”. 

As I was walking out of the House, I noticed that there was no electricity in the house.  I told the children that when I was small, I used to study in the evening and how do they study. The children pointed towards a little lamp, a brass lamp that was there.  They said, “We study using that lamp.”  This problem of energy security reflects itself everyday with all of us; it reflects itself among the poor, like in the house of Sashikala; it reflects itself with industry; and it reflects among all Indians.

Energy effects India; energy effects India’s growth; and energy is responsible for allowing us to grow at nine per cent and that growth is responsible for allowing us to to create programmes to help poor, like those the BJP has done, like the PMGSY; and like those the Congress has done, like the NREGP and guaranteed education. 

The point that I am making here is if we do not secure our energy supply into the future, growth will stop and we will not be able to fight poverty which is something that every single Member of this House wants to do.

I have said what the problem is.  I would go back to Vidharba to see what the solution could possibly be.  I would go to the house of another young lady called Kalawati, who had nine children.

I would go to the house of Kalawati.  I am glad you find that funny.  But Kalawati is a person whose husband committed suicide.  So, I would urge you to respect her.  I would take you to the house of Kalawati, which I also visited three days ago.  Kalawati is a woman with nine children whose husband committed suicide three years ago.  Her husband committed suicide because he was dependent on only one crop, the cotton crop.  When I asked Kalawati as to why her husband committed suicide, her answer was  that he was dependent on only one source of income.

I asked Kalavati as to what did you do.  Kalavati responded by telling me that I diversify. When I asked the widow lady as to how she resolves her problem, she said that instead of sowing one crop, she now sows three crops.  She told me how she bought two buffaloes and now has milk as a source of income.  She also told me, most importantly, that she dug a little pond which she fills with water and uses as an insurance policy when it does not rain.

I spoke to two poor families.  One of them was called Mrs. Kala. Mrs. Kala said that she had diversified her income sources and she has used that to stabilize her family and bring up her nine children.

Sir, at the very least, nuclear energy is going to act like Mrs. Kala’s pond and it is going to act as an insurance policy for this country in times of need.  At its maximum, nuclear energy is going to act like Mrs. Kala’s main crop.

So, the problem is that the way our nuclear industry is positioned today, it is going to do neither. It is neither going to act as an insurance policy nor is it going to act or have  the potential to act as a fundamental source of energy.  And, the reason it is not going to do so is because the hands of our scientists, the hands of our establishment are tied; they are tied because they do not have fuel on one hand, and on the other hand  they do not have investment and technology.

Sir, I am very proud to say that our Prime Minister Shri Manmohan Singhji has recognized both the problem and a potential solution. But it would be unfair of me not to accept that Shri Vajpayee also saw the problem and also, in his time, worked on the solution. Now, I have stated and all of us know that there is a problem with  regard to our energy security in this country, and that we need to think about it in the long term. It is a problem that all of us need to solve working together.

As I said, senior leaders have also established that the way forward is diversification and reliance on more than one source of energy, a balanced portfolio that includes nuclear, hydrocarbon, solar and wind among others.

 But, Sir,  it is not enough to identify a problem and a potential solution.  The magic of what Shri Manmohan Singhji is doing is that within the problem, he has identified an opportunity that is significantly larger than the problem itself.  The opportunity our Prime Minister has identified is based on a simple fact.  It is based on the fact that over the next 30-40 years, two countries are going to use the largest bulk of new energy that comes on line.  These countries – China and India – have the ability to define the way the world’s energy moves

Sir, what I am suggesting is that instead of looking at our energy problem as a problem, we start to look at our energy usage as an opportunity.  Like a big buyer who goes to any market, we have the ability to shape the global energy industry, and energy is like no other industry in the world. Energy, as I said earlier, is used everywhere, in everything and in every aspect of economic and social life. Energy has destroyed nations and it has built nations.

Our old opponent, the British, grew to their prominence because they control coal. The United States today controls hydrocarbons. It has a large emphasis on hydrocarbons, and we all know how powerful they are. What I am suggesting is that we start to think like a big country, like a powerful country. Instead of worrying about how the world will impact us, we start worrying about how we will impact the world.

Many years ago, this country embarked on a path which many people did not believe in. We developed an industry called, IT industry and the telecom industry. Very few people believed at that time that India would ever play a major role in this industry. Very few people believed that the computer would have anything to do with empowering the poor and with changing the way this country worked. Yet, today all of us together see the impact of the computer. We see the revolutionary impact that IT and communications has had on this country, and it is important that we do not forget this. It is important that we do not forget this because I believe we are at the cross roads, very similar to the cross roads we were at when the decision on IT was to be made.

The decision here is not about three per cent energy or seven per cent energy. It is not about India’s usage of nuclear energy. If we look at the big picture here, it is about whether India can become a global power in a type of energy that is going to be very important in the future. We all know the problems caused by hydrocarbons. We know about pollution.

Earlier, one of the Members asked me to point out what is the connection between energy and poverty. We know the link between us depending on hydrocarbons and prices in India today. Sir, when we think about energy, when we think about nuclear energy, we must think about the poorest in the country. Contrary to what most people believed, when we thought about IT in this country, we were thinking about the poor in this country. It is something that is hard to cross because it is counterintuitive. But one must not underestimate the connections between industry, between energy and between the poor.

Sir, I have taken a lot of time. So, I do not want to go on for ever. But I want to make one last submission. I am very happy this House is now listening to.

The difference between a powerful country and a country that is not powerful and does not have a similar impact on the world stage is that the powerful country thinks about how it will impact the world. The country that is not so powerful thinks about how the world will impact it.

Sir, it does not matter which Government runs this country. Many Governments will run this country in the future. But it does matter how we think about our position in the world. What is important is that we stop worrying about how the world will impact us, we stop being scared about how the world will impact us and we step out and worry about how we will impact the world.

Sir, as I said earlier, I speak today not as a Congress person or a Congressman but as an Indian. I would like to say two other things before I conclude. The first is that we are all building this country together. We might have different views about how this country should be built. We might have different opinions on what we should do. But essentially we sit in this room together and we have to solve our problems together. This is what differentiates us and this is what gives us our true power that any voice can be heard in this room, that any voice can disrupt any other voice in this room. I am being serious. It is uncomfortable for me. But I am very proud of it that every voice can be heard in this country.

I would like to conclude by saying two things. The first thing is that we must never, ever let fear be our guide. We must never take decisions based on the fear of the unknown or what is going to happen if we act. We must only act with one rule and that is courage. The second thing I would like to say is that we are a country of a billion people; 70 per cent of us are young. I am old for this country; I am much above the average age. It is important to realise that this country is brimming with confidence and brimming with self-belief. Another point we must never forget when we take decisions as leaders in this country is that we have to believe in that, in our people and we have to have confidence in what we are capable of doing. We have to have confidence in what they are doing.

            I think these are guides not only for Congress leaders, these are guides for every single Indian that when you do act, whoever you are, whatever opinion you have, act with courage and act with confidence. With that, together, we can change this country and impact the world.

            To conclude, I would like to support our hon. Prime Minister and like to say that he has shown tremendous courage and confidence in the Indian people and I would also like to say and I say this as a youngster from this Party and as a youngster from that Party and all those other Parties that it does not matter what happens here today. What matters is that we start working together and we together try to solve the problems of this country. 

            I would like to support the motion of the hon. Prime Minister. Thank you very much.