JOIN USLaunching a scathing attack on the BJP-led NDA govt at the Centre, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi said on Saturday that the Narendra Modi government was dealing with Pakistan in an ad hoc manner.
“You cannot prevent 100 per cent terrorist attacks. You can react to them in a different manner,” said Rahul, while interacting with management students at the Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS) at Vile Parle here.
Elaborating further on what the Congress-led UPA government headed by Manmohan Singh did after the 26/11 terror attacks, he said: “Main issue is how do you respond. After Mumbai happened, the Indian government implemented and developed a strategy by consulting experts…after 26/11, we isolated Pakistan diplomatically, but this government deals with them in an ad hoc manner.”
To a question on cricket, he said, “Politicians should not be anywhere near sports administration bodies. Cricket should be run by cricketers.”
Speaking on the economy and startups, the Congress vice-president said if you want to lead institutions and solve problems, then don't set rigid boundaries for yourself, don't get trapped in narrow definitions. “Agriculture, industry, startups are all connected to each other… agriculture has become volatile. Our strategy was to provide adequate MSP to farmers, create a floor by bringing MGNREGA and programmes that helped poor…. sadly our current government has lost focus, they are not focussing on farmers, they are actually putting pressure on them,” he said, targeting the BJP-led Centre.
Rahul also said that startups and intolerance cannot go together. “Startup requires an eco system where free ideas can flow. Real challenge is to create an environment to ensure small businesses can grow. Startup entrepreneurs are creative people. Intolerance and startups can’t go together,” he said. Replying to a question on China, Rahul said that the Communist nation is more powerful and economically stronger, but it grabs and pulls you as it is a centralised economy.