Rahul Gandhi at Chintan Shivir tells partymen about the challenges ahead

The newly appointed Congress Vice President, Rahul Gandhi, said while addressing his partyment on the last day of the Congress’ chintan shivir at Jaipur said that there are many challenges ahead. "Voices of a billion say they want a bigger say in politics. People are angry because they feel alienated by the political class. We want aam adami to participate in the politics of the country," said Rahul.

Addressing the concern of women in the country, Rahul Gandhi said, "The voice of women is being trampled upon by people with arbitrary powers in their life. It does not matter how much wisdom you have, if you have no position, then you are nothing. This is the tragedy of India."

In his first address after being appointed vice president of Congress, Rahul spoke of the anger of the youth saying they feel alienated from the political class and demanded a complete transformation of the system to give them a role in the political space. Addressing the AICC session, he made an emotional speech in which he said "I invite all of you to stand up and take on this fight," he said to a thunderous applause and a standing ovation from nearly thousand delegates at the AICC, that included his mother and Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Prime Minister Mamnohan Singh, union ministers and top Congress leaders.

After the speech, Rahul hugged his mother and later the Prime Minister, while other senior leaders greeted him with some of them giving him a warm embrace. Echoing the concerns expressed by his mother to the conclave on Friday in which she underscored the need to respond to the "more aspirational and more impatient" youth and urban middle classes, Rahul Gandhi asked, "Why are the youth angry?”. “They are angry because they are alienated from the political class. They watch from the sidelines as the powerful drive in lal battis (cars with red beacon). We need to meet their urgent demands of jobs," he said.

Rahul said only a handful of people control the political space and power is highly centralised. "We don't empower people at the bottom. People feel they are outside of the system. That happens because we don't respect knowledge. We respect only positions. If you don't have position, you mean nothing. "Why people are angry. Because they are alienated from the system,. Their voices are trampled upon. All our systems - justice, education, political, administration - are designed to keep people with knowledge out. Mediocrity dominates discussions," he said in his 40-minute speech that was repeatedly cheered by party leaders.