Intolerance, anger reign supreme in India, says Rahul Gandhi in UAE
Dubai, Jan 12: Congress President Rahul Gandhi said here Saturday that India has witnessed a great deal of intolerance and anger in the last four and a half years which stemmed from the "mentality of the people in power".
Gandhi, who is in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on the second day of his maiden visit to the country, said India did not force one idea on the people and can absorb multiple ideas.
"India has shaped ideas and ideas have shaped India. Listening to other people is also an idea of India," he said while interacting with the students at the IMT Dubai University as part of his global outreach programme ahead of the general elections.
He said it was harder to make sports number one priority in India as the country faces bigger challenges like hunger.
"Tolerance is embedded in our culture. But we have seen a lot of anger, division among communities for the last four and a half years. It stems from the mentality of the people in power," he said.
"We don't like an India where journalists are shot, where people are killed for what they say. That is something we want to change, that is the challenge in the upcoming elections," he said.
He said healthcare was a "huge opportunity" for India in global perspective.
"We are sitting on the biggest genetic resources on the planet and that is what cure and medical health is going to be about in next 10-15 years," the Congress President said.
"Brain Drain' was a 20th century idea. In the 21st century people are more mobile and go where real opportunities are. One should make sure that your country provides opportunities," he said.
Gandhi said India needed to reshape its banking system so that small and medium enterprises can get financial resources in order to scale up to become large companies.
Gandhi Friday had an "excellent meeting" with Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum during which the Congress president assured him that he was committed to an even stronger bilateral ties.
Earlier, he addressed Indian workers and interacted with business leaders. Gandhi also interacted with representatives of the Indian Business and Professional Council (IBPC), Dubai and met the Punjabi community.
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England sticking with Key, McCullum and Stokes despite Ashes humbling
London (AP): England is not sacking anybody following the 4-1 Ashes loss in Australia.
A review of the tour by the England and Wales Cricket Board, announced within hours of the final match in January, was concluded on Monday. Firing people would “be the easy thing to do,” ECB chief executive Richard Gould said but he insisted, "This is not the time to throw everything out."
Managing director Rob Key, coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes kept their jobs after the best England side to go to Australia in 14 years lost the Ashes in 11 days with two games to spare.
“Moving people on can sometimes be the easy thing to do. That's not the route that we're going to take,” Gould said. “I've seen the driving ambition and determination that we're lucky enough to have within our leadership group to take the lessons from the Ashes and move forward.”
Gould previously was the chief executive of Bristol City soccer club and said the ECB would not follow the same route as soccer's hire-and-fire culture.
“Cricket is a very unique sport in that it takes a team of leadership ... it's not like football where there's a single point of failure or success with a manager," he said. He added the ECB would not “select or deselect management based on a popularity campaign.”
The main criticisms of England's tour were poor preparation, player misbehavior, and selection mistakes.
At a press conference at Lord's, Gould and Key said McCullum and Stokes have not had a “bust up,” they did not want McCullum to “completely change” but “to evolve,” the behavior of some players was “unprofessional,” there will be more consequences for underperforming, and a commitment to “better long-term planning” ahead of major test series.
Some changes were already implemented for the Twenty20 World Cup, where England reached the semifinals. Gould implied that performance saved McCullum.
Key acknowledged that England supporters would be disappointed to see the management team go unpunished.
“I know people want punishment and that people then should be sacked for that,” Key said. “That doesn't mean we don't feel like we've gone through some serious pain: Brendon, myself, Ben. It's been as tough a time as I think I've had.”
