Sonia praises Manmohan Singh for bringing millions out of poverty, but says more needs to be done

UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Sunday praised Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's leadership for lifting millions of Indians out of poverty through the various social welfare schemes of the UPA regime, and said development of education, expertise and research will empower the marginalized in the future.

"The prime concern of the UPA has always been to develop the nation, while being socially inclusive. This will allow for every section of society to progress. ...The marginalisation of the poor and socially backward on the basis of gender, class, caste and religion remains a big issue in our country. It is also hampering our growth, because, their circumstances do not allow them to become contributors to our society," Gandhi said while inaugurating the training-cum-research centre of the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Development Studies here.

"While they do not have access to the basic facilities, they also face discrimination at every level. Over the last so many years, the UPA Government under the leadership of our Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, has lifted millions out of poverty through our social welfare schemes. But, we are only too aware that we need to do much more," she added.

Pitching solutions for the future of the country, Gandhi stressed on the need for education to recruit experts and policy makers to pave the path to a stronger and more developed India.

"We need experts, who will devise solutions to empower the marginalized. They must be given a good education, basic facilities of life and an opportunity to be contributing members of society," Gandhi said.

"We need policy makers of the next generation, who can identify and understand the particular problems of today and the opportunities of tomorrow, and help construct policies, which can bring effective and long-term change," she added.

As part of her two-day visit to Kerala, Gandhi, earlier today, unveiled the statue of former Keral chief minister R. Shankar at the Martyrs Column and addressed a public meeting at the Kerala University Senate Hall.

On Monday, Sonia Gandhi will launch the 'Zero-Landless Project-2015', a unique initiative of the Kerala Government to provide land to all the landless people in the state by 2015.