AMN / WEB DESK
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, while addressing the Indian diaspora in Texas, United States emphasized his role in promoting respect and humility in Indian politics. He noted that the recent general election results have removed the fear of Prime Minister Narendra Modi among the people, highlighting a collective stand to protect the Constitution from perceived attacks.
Speaking to students and members of the Indian diaspora in Texas on Sunday, Gandhi also argued that the 2024 general elections ended the fear of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and reiterated his critique of the government over the alleged capture of institutions, alleged favouritism shown towards select business houses, and the administration’s ideological orientation.
“The West has an employment problem. India has an employment problem. But many countries don’t have an employment problem. China certainly doesn’t have an employment problem. Vietnam doesn’t have an employment problem…The US was the centre of global production. It then went to Korea, Japan and eventually China,” Gandhi told students at the University of Texas in Dallas.
He is on a three-day visit of the US.
Gandhi said that the West and India gave up on the idea of production and handed it to China and, instead, organised itself on the basis consumption. “You are never going to employ India using IT, using consumption. India has to think of the act of production and organising production. It is not acceptable that manufacturing will be the preserve of the Chinese..We have to reimagine how to produce in a democratic environment…if we carry down this path, you are going to see massive social problems. The polarisation of politics is because of this,” he added.
Gandhi said that India didn’t have a skills problem but a “skill respect” problem where those with skills weren’t respected, and the skills infrastructure, education system and business system weren’t connected deeply. He also said that the advent of new technologies such as artificial intelligence will take away some jobs, create new jobs, and will impact different sectors differently.