Like Army, Congress does not leave anyone behind, says Rahul

Reaching out to ex-servicemen in the poll season, Rahul Gandhi today attempted to draw a parallel between the philosophy of the defence forces and that of Congress, saying like Army his party does not believe in leaving anyone behind, no matter how small they are.
"In the army, you don't ask which religion does a soldier or officer belongs to or what his or her caste is. For you everybody is an Indian. It is the same philosophy of oneness which is the philosophy of Congress. We do not discriminate," he said.
Gandhi added that the similarities do not end there.

"Like the defence forces, the Congress does not believe in leaving anyone behind, no matter how small they are," he said as he assured them that he will make whole-hearted attempts to fulfil the demands of the veterans including representation for the armed forces in the central pay commission.
This was his third interaction with the ex-servicemen, who comprise of a population of 23 lakh and have a strong presence in states like Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Rajasthan.
The principal Opposition party BJP is also wooing them earnestly. Former Army chief Gen V K Singh, who joined the BJP recently, is contesting this Lok Sabha election from Ghaziabad.

Gandhi, who termed the Lok Sabha elections as a "battle of thoughts", stressed that Congress stood for empowering the people while the opposition represented only the rich in the country.
Addressing the ex-servicemen, he said he agreed with the view that there is a divide between the armed forces and the bureaucracy, saying, "I could feel this divide during the One Rank One Pension issue."
"I cannot make big promises but my intentions are very clean. I promise you that whatever demands you have, I would always make a whole-hearted effort to meet your demands," Gandhi said. He also reminded them that the UPA accepted the 25-year-old demand of "one rank one pay" to ex-servicemen.