Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], March 8: Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi addressed party workers in Ahmedabad on Saturday during the Samvaad program. He emphasized that the Congress party must first fulfill its responsibilities before asking people for votes.

During the Samvaad program, Lok Sabha LoP and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi said, 'It has been almost 30 years since we have been in power here. Whenever I come here, there are discussions on Assembly elections of 2007, 2012, 2017, 2022, 2027...But the question is not about elections. The people of Gujarat will not make us win the elections until we fulfil our responsibilities...We should not even ask the people of Gujarat to bring us to power until we fulfil our responsibilities. I guarantee you that the day we do this, the people of Gujarat will give their support to the Congress party.'

He highlighted the role of Gujarat in shaping India's freedom movement as he said, '...When the Congress party had to face the British, we were looking for leadership everywhere. The British were in front of us; the Congress party represented the people of India, but we did not have any leader. From where did the leader come? The leader came from South Africa. Who was Mahatma Gandhi and who gave him to us? South Africa did not give him. Gujarat gave our original leadership to the Congress party and that leadership gave us the way to think, the way to fight, the way to live.'

'Without Gandhi ji the Congress party would not have been able to get freedom for the country and without Gujarat, Gandhi ji would not have been there...If we were shown the way, our organisation was shown the way, India was shown the way, Gujarat was the one that showed us the way,' Rahul Gandhi said.

'Congress has five biggest leaders, out of which two was given by Gujarat,' Gandhi added.

Rahul Gandhi criticised the Congress Party and himself, said..'Gujarat is stuck, it is unable to see the way, Gujarat wants to move forward. I am a member of the Congress party and I am saying that the Congress party of Gujarat is unable to show it the way, and I am not speaking with shame, I am not speaking with fear, I want to put this before you whether it is our workers, whether it is Rahul Gandhi, whether it is our general secretary, whether it is our PCC president, we are unable to show the way to Gujarat. Till date, the expectations of Gujarat from us, from me, from our PCC president, from our in-charge in the last 30 years, we are unable to fulfil them...'

He also spoke about Gujarat's economic situation. 'The backbone of Gujarat is small traders, small and medium businesses, entrepreneurs. They are struggling. Farmers are shouting for a new vision. Congress can provide that vision, but first, we need to strengthen our organization,' he added.

Talking about Congress's electoral strength, he said, 'The opposition has 40 percent of the vote in Gujarat. We only need a 5 percent increase to win. We increased the vote share by 22 percent in Telangana. It can be done here too, but without filtering the party, it won't happen.'

Rahul Gandhi urged Congress workers to reconnect with the people and assured them of his commitment. 'I want to understand Gujarat, I want to build a relationship with the people of Gujarat. Confidence is inside you; my job is to bring it out,' he said. (ANI)