It was the turn of Rahul Gandhi, the star campaigner and probably PM-in-waiting from the Congress camp, to deliver his speech in this season of speechmaking where his main contender Narendra Modi has been impressing many. In the hour-long performance, which has its highs and lows, Rahul’s keywords were vision, dream, optimism, inclusion and change (though not experience, achievement, implementation). He charmed the audience of industry captains with his transparency and self-criticism, though they would have wanted to hear from him how the UPA government was planning to save the economy from the morass.

Rahul's speech has generated a lot of debate. Read another view here: Rahul shares his vision at CII: all heart, little heads

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Read the verbatim text of the speech here.

What he proved at the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) AGM was that he was no longer a tutored prince but had done enough of groundwork in villages to come back with a vision of a new political architecture, a panacea to all problems including the ones faced by business leaders. That might not have convinced many in the audience, but his larger constituency outside would nod approvingly.

In his half-hour speech, he fumbled, searched a document he wanted to quote from, kept people wondering where the discourse was heading and largely made a speech to the business audience that would have more resonance with civil society. However, it was in the question-answer session when he proved his dexterity, political as well as intellectual.

The takeaway was the most radical solution to the systemic mess from a politician: reforming political party structures and devolving power to the panchayats, something not heard from a leading politician. With that, Rahul could outsmart Modi in the days to come though his convictions lack the basis in achievements.

Power to people
Replying to a question from a business leader, Rahul said the full answer would be complex, and then he went ahead to present his agenda of politics: devolution of power to the panchayats. “The 73rd and 74th amendments envisioned a third tier of government. What is happening to the devolution of power? What you see (as problems around us) is a challenge coming from panchayats. But our parties are designed for MPs, not gram pradhans. Five thousand people decide everything (for the country). That’s legislature. And only 200 people decide these 5,000 (who they will be).

“We wait for the guy on the horse. Even if you give me all the power, even if you give an individual all the power, he cannot change the country.” Then came the quote of the day: “Give one individual all the power, he cannot solve problems of one billion. Give one billion the power, and problems will be solved. We need to empower everybody, not one person, not almost everybody, but everybody.” That was what he was trying to do within the party, he said. As for devolution of power to the panchayats and brining the gram pradhans into political field, he criticised all parties including his own even as he unusually singled out the Left and Dravidian parties for praiseworthy work in that direction.

I have a dream
Sticking to a formula also used by Modi, Rahul peppered his speech with heart-warming anecdotes and narratives. He set the tone by repeating Modi’s message – “The spirit of the country is optimism. People are poor but not pessimist. India is bursting with dreams. Millions of youth are struggling, with dreams. Democracy and technology have triggered a non-reversible chain reaction in this country. We need to nurture it, nurture it harmoniously and it needs to happen smoothly. We have to build a knowledge infrastructure to let ideas flow.” Which means education, but Rahul was clear that universities today work in silos, whereas they should have linkages with industry – a point also made Modi in his recent speeches. “The problem is not joblessness, but lack of training,” he said.

Inclusive politics
Taking pot-shots against BJP, particularly Narendra Modi, Rahul harped on inclusion – he said politics of alienating communities affects growth and the Congress stood for inclusive growth. India had witnessed faster economic growth under the UPA because it had greatly lowered tensions among communities and fostered harmony, he said.

“When you play the politics of alienating communities, you stop the movement of people and ideas. When that happens we all suffer. Businesses suffer and the seeds of disharmony are sown and the dreams of our people are severely disrupted. It is very dangerous to leave people behind. Inclusive growth is a win-win for everybody.”

Thumbs-up for industry
For titans of industry, who wanted to hear the potential PM candidate’s plans to turn the economy around, Rahul offered only a word of praise: he said they were in the ambassadors of the country to the rest of the world. “When I went to university in 1991, nobody knew India...that is not the case now thanks to you people.”

To become PM or not
Once again, he himself raised the question of his future, and sidestepped it. “I have got press guys asking when you are getting married. Somebody else says, boss, when are you going to be the prime minister? Somebody says, no you are not going to be PM, somebody say may be you will be PM. There is good possibility. These are irrelevant questions. It’s all smoke.”

The only hint of ambitions was in his invitation to industry leaders – “I want to forge a partnership with you – long-term partnership...”