Those who fight for people will get tickets: Rahul

Hyderabad, May 7 (IANS) Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday told the party leaders in Telangana that those who remain in the midst of people and fight for them will get the tickets in the next year's Assembly elections.

Stressing the need for unity, he cautioned the state leaders against voicing their grievances before the media and also urged them to go to their respective constituencies and work on the ground.

On the second day of his two-day visit to Telangana, Rahul was addressing an extended meeting of Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) at Gandhi Bhavan, the state headquarters of the party in Hyderabad.

Reiterating that the coming elections will be a direct fight between TRS and Congress, he made it clear that the tickets will be given only on the basis of merit.

"Tickets will be given on the basis of merit. Nobody should be under any illusion. Those who work and remain in the midst of people, fight for farmers, workers, petty traders and youth will get tickets on merit basis," said the Congress MP.

"Our party is a family. No one should feel that he is being discriminated against. You will be rewarded for the work. No matter how senior a leader you are and no matter how many years you have spent in the party, if you don't work, you won't get a ticket," he said, adding that the tickets will be given after taking independent and ground feedback.

"If you sit in Hyderabad you will not get a ticket. Don't come to Delhi, it backfires. Go to constituencies and villages, take to streets and work. I know, in Hyderabad you get good biryani and chai but you will have to leave Hyderabad and go to villages to be with the people," he told the party leaders.

Stating that the Warangal Declaration passed at Friday's public meeting is the first milestone for Congress leaders, he said their first task is to tell every citizen and every farmer of the state about the Warangal declaration.

In the declaration, the party has made a slew of promises to the farmers of Telangana.

"It's not a mere declaration but a partnership between Congress party and Telangana farmers. This is the guarantee of the Congress party," he said.

Rahul said over the next one month, all the Congress leaders in their respective constituencies and areas should explain the Warangal declaration in detail to every person. "Even if I ask a 12-year-old child, he should be able to tell me all the points of the declaration."

Describing Congress as a family, Rahul Gandhi warned the leaders against voicing their grievances publicly. "This is a family. The views may differ. This is not a family like RSS where one man takes all decisions. We want to hear views of all but not in the media. It should be in closed doors, the way a family talks," he said.

"If there are grievances or complaints we have an internal system. You can openly say whatever you want to say but if anyone goes out and tells something to the media, he will be damaging the Congress party and we will not accept this," he said.

Stating that the Warangal public meeting was very successful, he said this was the result of hard work put in by the party and congratulated all the leaders and workers.

Alleging that Chief Minister K.Chandrashekhar Rao, who is popularly known as KCR, looted Telangana, he said the TRS leader has no dearth of money. "He also has police and establishment with him but people are not with him and nothing is powerful than people, he said.

The Congress MP said the party wants to make Telangana a model state and realize the dream with which the state was formed.

"We don't want to make a government of a few selected people and monopolists but we want to form a government of farmers, the poor and every citizen of this state. Want to focus on education, health and employment. This is our target and dream and to achieve this need we need unity in the party."

He also stated that outside the Congress party, there are several youth, leaders and the party's old workers who believe in Congress ideology. "We should open Congress doors for them. I am inviting all of them to come and work with us to fight TRS and KCR," he said.

"I want to tell the youth, you have seen eight years, you have seen how the dream of Telangana was ruined, how money was looted and your future was destroyed. You did not get schools, colleges and hospitals and the money which you should have got went to one family," he said.

Rahul said that removing TRS and KCR from Telangana is the responsibility of Congress but it's also the responsibility of the youth of Telangana.

"I also invite youth to come to Congress and work to change Telangana. Sonia ji had seen the dream of Telangana with you. She gave statehood. The Congress party suffered a loss but we stood with you because it was a just cause. I want to make the Telangana dream come true by working with people. Hence wherever my services are required invite me, I am with you," he added.