Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi Monday on said that the Congress-led UPA Government believes in making the poor a part of the nation's development work.
"The Congress Party has been ruling for the past ten years, and the UPA Government believes in bringing the poor into the mainstream of the country's development. In the last ten years, the country has grown faster than it has ever grown in its history. This is a huge achievement," said Rahul Gandhi at a rally here.
"Not only this, we also pulled 15 crore people out of poverty. We gave them certain guaranteed rights. Never before have so many people come out of poverty is such a short period," he added.
Claiming credit for the Mid Day Meal Scheme, Rahul said there has been a massive increase in the number of children who went to school.
He also said that the Congress Party, unlike the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), does not believe in the politics of hatred and violence.
"The first thing we will do when we come to power in 2014 is to pass the Women's Reservation Bill. We will have 2,000 dedicated women's police stations and we aim to have 25 per cent women in the police force," he said.
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He also alleged that the BJP talks about fighting corruption, but its manifesto does not mention how they will do this.
Raising the issue of problems faced by fishermen in the country, Rahul said, "Some months back, I had met some fishermen in Mumbai, and had a word with them regarding the difficulties they face. They suggested that there should be a dedicated ministry for the fishermen in this country."
He said it is mentioned in the election manifesto of the Congress to make a separate and dedicated ministry for the fishermen in this country.
"We are aware of the problems faced by the fishermen with Sri Lanka. We are committed to finding a solution to this problem as soon as possible," he added.