The Hindu : National : Rahul Gandhi defends nuclear energy option

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jul 23, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

National

National

Rahul Gandhi defends nuclear energy option

Special Correspondent

Urges colleagues in the Lok Sabha to have confidence in the people

— Photo:R.V. Moorthy

Nation in mind: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi coming out of the Parliament House after the voting on confidence motion, in New Delhi on Tuesday.

NEW DELHI: Congress member Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday likened the opposition to the India-U.S. nuclear deal to the reservations that people had when India first decided to invest in telecommunications and Information Technology.

Intervening in the trust vote discussion in the Lok Sabha, Mr. Gandhi said the country was at a crossroads similar to the one when the government took a call on telecommunications and IT. ``The question is not about how much nuclear energy can be generated but if India can become a global power in the type of energy that will become crucial tomorrow,” he said.

Of the view that each and every member of the Lok Sabha – irrespective of political leanings – was working towards building the country, Mr. Gandhi said: “We need to resolve the country’s problems together. Fear should not be our guide, we need to act with courage.”

Stating that India was a country of a billion people, Mr. Gandhi urged his colleagues in the Lok Sabha to have confidence in the people of India. “The difference between a powerful country and others is that a powerful country does not think about how others impact it but how it can impact the rest of the world.”

Maintaining that it does not matter who runs India, the Congress leader – who time and again said he was not speaking as a politician representing any party but as an Indian – said: “What matters is how you think about India’s position in the world.”

Also, he appreciated the former Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, for trying to end the country’s nuclear isolation. He, too, saw the problem India was facing on the energy front and tried to find a solution, Mr. Gandhi said and egged the Bharatiya Janata Party to applaud him for appreciating their leader.

Mr. Gandhi’s speech was delivered in two parts as he was interrupted by Bahujan Samaj Party members soon after he began speaking. The interruptions resulted in an adjournment and he could resume only post-lunch; that, too, after the House took up the matter raised by the BSP.

Speaking extempore in the Lok Sabha for the first time, Mr. Gandhi was heckled several times for opting to narrate his interactions in Vidarbha with two women – Sasikala and Kalawati – while making his intervention. Later, on the advice of Speaker Somnath Chatterjee – who suggested that he drop ‘wati’ from Kalawati’s name – the Mr. Gandhi began referring to her as Ms. Kala and secured for himself peace with the Opposition.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

National