Jaipur: Saying that the party and the country were his life, newly-appointed Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi called for a "complete transformation" of the party system and creating more national level leaders "who can run the country"
"The Congress party is my life, the people of India are my life, and I will fight for the people of India and my party, I will fight with everything I have," Gandhi, 42, said in his first speech after being made officially the No.2 in the party.
He also said a "young and impatient India" is demanding a greater voice and role in decision making and more accountability.
In a speech that touched on the ills of a centralized system of government and on the anger and alienation of the youth, who constitute the mass of the country, Gandhi, speaking in Hindi and English alternatively, said the party "does not focus on leadership development".
The party needs to create 40-50 leaders "who can run the country, not just a state" and also create a similar set of leaders at the state level who can be made chief minister.
Gandhi also touched an emotional chord when he related how his mother and party president Sonia Gandhi sat next to him and cried because "she understands that the power many people seek is actually a poison" and she has seen its effect on people and those whom they love.
