Rahul wants to 'correct the system' within Congress

One of the problems that he identified is that grassroots level workers are not reach the top brass

Rahul Gandhi today said he wanted to "correct the system" within Congress as problems of grassroots level workers did not reach its top brass and assured partymen that he was available to them at any time.

In a closed-door interaction with delegates as part of organisation building exercise here, the fourth such meet in Punjab, the Congress Vice President told partymen that he wanted to "correct the system" within the party.   

To drive home the message that he was a playing captain, Rahul refrained from addressing the delegates from the dais and instead sat among them and moved from table to table to listen to their grievances.

"Your problems don't reach us...I want the party should be aware of problems of partymen at grassroots level. Congress is like a family," he said, adding, "We need to respect each other within the party."  

"I am available to you at any time," he told them.

Referring to the party's defeat in Punjab assembly polls, he said it was not a loss for the party chief, but for partymen working at the lowest level and stressed the need for fixing responsibility of each person within the party.   

Power must remain with workers at lower levels, he said.

"If we give enough powers to workers at lower levels only then party policies and programmes will succeed," he said.     Rahul stressed the need for maintaining discipline among the party cadres at all levels and warned that indiscipline would not be tolerated at any cost.

"We need to maintain discipline and respect each and every worker," he said in his about 40-minute interaction.  

Rahul said, "We will respect and welcome those who join us on idealogical grounds but at the same time the seniority and the respect of the Congress workers will not be ignored."

Each participant was handed over a seven-page booklet on "how to strengthen the Congress party".     

To a suggestion by Leader of Opposition Sunil Jakhar, Rahul said the party would soon launch an awareness programme among unemployed youth to register their names in the Employment Exchange so that they could get unemployment dole.

He also shared a view that grassroots level workers should have a greater say in framing party policies and selection of candidates for the coming Lok Sabha polls.     

PCC chief Partap Singh Bajwa, Union Ministers Manish Tewari and Preneet Kaur were among those present.