M A I N   N E W S

Rahul defines ‘aam aadmi’
Vibha Sharma
Tribune News Service

His take on the common man He is the tribal boy in Niyamgiri who is thrown off his land without justice The Dalit boy in Jhansi who is forced to sit at the back of the classroom She is the young professional in Bangalore who can’t get her child into a good school He is the university topper in Shillong who cannot get a job because he doesn’t know the right people He is the farmer in Aligarh who does not get the price he deserves for his land. He is the businessman in Hyderabad who is pushed aside because he does not have connections She is the widow in Vidarbha, beset with tragedy in her family, struggling to make both ends meet He is the bureaucrat whose professional future is at risk because he refuses to compromise He is the worker who builds the metro with his blood and sweat but will never get the credit for it He is the poor carpenter from Basti living in the slums of Mumbai who did not get education because of lack of opportunity

New Delhi, December 19
Years after the Congress coined the term “aam aadmi” to turn the tables on the BJP twice, Rahul Gandhi today presented a definition of the term while steering clear of the “Hindutva-terror” political controversy raging after the sensational WikiLeaks expose.

“Aam aadmi in India was that person who does not have a connection to the system,” Rahul explained to the attentive Congressmen at the party’s plenary session.

According to Congress scion, “aam aadmi” had no colour or creed. “Whether he is poor or rich, Hindu, Muslim, Sikh or Christian, educated or uneducated, if he is not connected to the system, he is an aam aadmi,” said, knocking down speculations that he might clarify his stand on the WikiLeaks controversy.

Focusing instead on organisational problems of the Congress and the need of developments for the common man, he explained the genesis of his research on “aam aadmi”.

He said an academic came to see him while writing a book on “aam aadmi”. “He was struggling to define the term and asked me for definition. I thought about it. And here is my answer,” he said presenting a list of all those who qualified to be included in the list of common man.

“We call him the common man, but, in fact, he is unique. He has immense capabilities, intelligence and strength. He builds this country every day and yet our system crushes him at every step,” he said amid appreciative cheers from his audience.

“I am a young politician and I have a lot to learn. But there is one thing that I am certain of. We will never build a nation until we start recognising and respecting the common man. We will never build a nation until we build a system in which this man’s progress is based not on who he knows but on what he knows. This is the challenge of our generation,” he added.

He also asked ministers at the Centre and the Chief Ministers to listen to the aam aadmi who forms the basic support for the party.

He said the Women Reservation Bill would be tabled in Parliament soon and hoped that would pave the way for women empowerment in the country.

Meanwhile, he said corrupt leaders must be punished. “Whatever the Congress president has said on the issue has given us inspiration to fight corruption. We require accountability...severe punishment should be given to the corrupt,” he said.

Sidelights

Sonia hails Rao

Usually, PV Narasimha Rao, is a ‘bad word’ at such official functions of the Congress. However, today the Congress Chief, Sonia Gandhi, who had testy relationship with Rao following the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi in 1991, duly acknowledged him. Referring to the historic 1991 economic liberalisation, she said: “PV Narasimha Rao gave a fresh impetus to the process of economic reforms.”

Future course

Digvijay Singh and Rahul Gandhi have a typical ‘guru-chela’ relationship. Today the mentor created a stir by saying: “Now the time has come. Rajiv Gandhi had made me and Ahmed Patel state Congress presidents when we were 36-37 years old. Now, our expiry date is nearing. I am confident Rahul Gandhi will make his own team."

Faux pas

Congress general secretary Mukul Wasnik read out a long list of condolences, however, somehow, it did not include the name of Jaswant Kaur --- widow of former Chief Minister of Punjab Beant Singh --- who passed away in August this year. Jaswant Kaur had been given Cabinet rank status in the Amarinder Singh Government ( 2002-07). Senior Congressman MM Singh Cheema lodged a protest.