Live reporting: Rahul says Congress will elect its PM after polls

New Delhi: Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi today fired on all cylinders at the BJP, and said that his party would elected its prime minister only after the Lok Sabha elections. In a rare aggressive mode, Rahul Gandhi said, those who speak of a Congress-free India, will themselves be decimated. The Gandhi scion appealed to the Prime Minister sitting on the dais, to raise the number of subsidized LPG cylinders from 9 to 12 a year. He also promised to give 50 per cent reservation to women and said half of the Congress chief ministers should be women. Following are the main pointers of Rahul Gandhi's combative speech: --Those in opposition are masters of marketing. They can sell combs to bald people. Those who are newcomers (read AAP), even promise haircuts to bald people. --Those who speak of Congress-free India, forget India's 3,000-year old history. What Congress represents is an idea, that speaks of tolerance. Those who worked against this idea were themselves decimated by history. --The Indian Constitution provides for electing Prime Minister by MPs of the largest party. Congress is a democratic party, and its MPs will elect the PM after the elections. I will work as a soldier. -6 anti-corruption bills should be passed in Parliament in the next three months Here is the live reporting of the AICC session :04:52pm-Sonia: The enthusiasm and the energy in the party members show that the party is ready for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections and we will winthe polls. 04:50pm-Sonia: We will pass the remaining crucial bills04:48pm-Sonia gandhi begins her concluding remarks 04:46pm- Rahul Gandhi concludes his remarks.04:45pm- Rahul: 2014 is tough battle and we will go with our head held high and fight with everything we have. We will not lose courage and will not stop till the battle is won." 04:41pm-Rahul:Opposition does not know and read history as the Congress is not a party but a vision which resides in every heart04:40pm-Rahul:Those who speak of Congress-free India were themselves decimated04:38pm-Rahul:Congress MPs will elect PM after elections, we believe in democracy04:36pm-Rahul:Opposition is good in marketing themselves as they earlier sold comb to bald people and now there are people who are giving them a haircut.04:32pm-Rahul:Rahul openly asks PM to increase number of supsidized LPG cylinders from 9 to 12 04:30pm-Rahul:We need to give more representation to women in politics. I want women reservation Bill to be passed in Parliament. I want half congress members as women.04:23pm-Rahul:People need honest government, we got Lokpal. Everyone made a drama but who passed it? Congress!04:22pm-Rahul:We have six bills in Parliament. These bills will transform fight against corruption. We have to ensure opposition does not stall parliament." 04:20pm-Rahul:We don't respond by turning against one another, nor by lighting communal fire04:16pm-Rahul:Will take views of dalit, tribals, workers, industrialists, youth, women and NGOs for drafting manifesto04:15pm-Rahul:It does not mean we will close doors for others. We want new ideas and thinking too04:14pm-Rahul: Congress workers will be given tickets to fight polls, not those from other parties who come for tickets04:13pm-Rahul: We have given you RTI and Lokpal. We also want to give you laws to fight corruption but the opposition has not allowed the parliament to function for years now. We want to give the country anti-graft bills which will transform the country, punish corrupt and protect the honest04:12pm-Rahul:Media and judiciary are making laws on the streets while law-making is the job of elected representatives.04:11pm-Rahul:We have strengthened Panchayati raj04:10pm-Rahul:Democracy is not ruled by one man.04:09pm-Rahul: We have also given food security to the people of this country.04:08pm-Rahul: In 10 yearsof its rule, this govt has given unmatched power to the people of this country.04:07pm-Rahul praises Manishankar Aiyer for his work on Panchayati Raj04:06pm-Rahul: Through RTI, we have given power to the people of this country.04:05pm-Rahul: Ten years of stability by UPA have given vast opportunities for youth. I thank PM for the great job he has done.04:05pm-Rahul: Sonia Gandhi and other senior leaders are Congress' power04:04pm-Rahul: It's an honour to speak to you.04:02pm- Rahul Gandhi begins his speech01:01pm - Manmohan Singh concludes his speech01:00 pm-Manmohan:Rahul Gandhi has instilled confidence in the minds of party workers. Under his leadership, we will win 2014 polls.12:57pm-Manmohan:There have been charges that are being investigated as per laws. We have now changed the process of allocation of both coal and spectrum12:49pm-Manmohan:Some claims of the opposition parties are impossible to fulfil. We have to explain to the people that the big claims that some opposition leaders are making are actually not possible to achieve. People should think about the behaviour and approach of the opposition. Their approach is to divide society. We should ask people to compare the achievemets of our government with the opposition.12:48pm-Manmohan:Poverty has declined under UPA rule,recorded increase in agricultural productivity,took firm steps to ensure women safety and security. We have ensured employment to rural youth, done a lot in the education sector,around 11cr students are getting mid-day meals. We have committed mistakes,but we have always tried to learn from them. Only raising slogans won't solves issues in the country, we need a stable Govt 12:47pm-Manmohan: For 7yrs we maintained a growth rate of 8% . When Opposition & our records/work are compared it will be clear who has performed well. Growth declined due to global meltdown,we aren't the only country which witnessed decline,other developing countries too faced problems. 12:46pm-Manmohan: We didn't do well in recent Assembly polls,no reason to be disheartened rather must introspect, will help strategize better for LS polls. 12:45pm-Manmohan: We didn't do well in recent Assembly polls,no reason to be disheartened rather must introspect, will help strategize better for LS polls. 12:44pm-Manmohan: We have given emphasis on the development of poor and weaker sections. We are confident that we will improve the growth rate. There have been many internal reasons of lowering growth rate. In 2011 , India faced an economic slowdown for the second time leading to slow growth rate, but the economic growth in last nine years is a record. We have set economic records despite global economic problems.12:43pm-Manmohan: We have to take the good work and acheivemnet of our government to the people.I'd like to express my gratitude towards Sonia Gandhi.The commitment shown by Sonia Gandhi has benefited the government tremendously.12:42pm- Manmohan Singh:We are accused of not doing anything to control corruption,would say we have worked towards bringing transparency like no one ever did 12:40pm- Manmohan Singh:Any victory in 2014 will be Rahul Gandhi's victory. 12:39pm- Manmohan Singh: This session is very important in view of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. It will help us to prepare for the elections. We need to thoroughly introspect our failures in the recently concluded Assembly polls and strategise our moves accordingly12:32pm- Pramod Tiwari: Modi is a coward. He knows he can never be the prime minister so he is not quitting the chief minister's post.12:30pm- Pramod Tiwari: Next election is between Gandhi vs Godse. And I am confident that Gandhi will win. I do not even want to take the name of the man leading the Godse camp. The fight is between the real and the fake." 12:01pm-P Chidambaram:I have a radical idea, don't know if it is supported by others. I believe that in half of the Parliament seats, Congress should field candidates below 35 years of age. Young India, empowered India should take the reigns of the Congress party and India.11:58am-P Chidambaram: We have chosen Rahul Gandhi to lead the party in 2014 Lok Sabha elections. This is more than anointing a leader.11:55am-P Chidambaram: We have spent heavily on minorities, women and education. More loans is growth but more loans to girl child and poor is inclusive development and social justice. This has been achieved under UPA.11:46am-P Chidambaram: We can look back at the 10 years, but I also ask you to look forward to the next 10 years. I challenge any political party to point out any government in India that has performed better than we have done. No other period or government has witnessed the growth, the inclusive development and social justice as we have in this period.11:44am-P Chidambaram: Our idea of India is not that we grow, our idea is inclusive growth and that every citizen gets justice, social justice, gender justice. The political career is never ending saga of sacrifice.11:35am-Ghulam Nabi azad: We are zero in publicity though we are superheroes at work. With price rise, the right to food is helping the poor get food at a very low price." 11:35am- Ghulam Nabi azad: We are zero in publicity though we are superheroes at work. With price rise, the right to food is helping the poor get food at a very low price." 11:23am: Union minister Ghulam Nabi Azad initiates session on the AICC political resolution. 11:16 am: Rahul Gandhi intervenes and says, “I'll speak on my role in the party during my speech at around 3:30pm.”11:12am- Party members once again raise slogans demanding the naming of Rahul Gandhi as the PM candidate.11.14am- Sonia: We all will have one resolution, one voice and victory will be ours.11.13am- Sonia: We have seen both victories and defeats. We have kept ourselves lively in every situation. Our courage will get stronger in coming days.11.12am- Sonia: Irrespective of whether we win or lose, our presence is there in every village. The workers who never concede defeat are our soldiers.11.11am- Sonia: We'll not rest till the time poverty is completely eradicated.11.10am- Sonia: We should not say that whatever development has taken place, it's because of us. 11.09am- Sonia: Congress should be kind to those who oppose us11.08am- Sonia: A new generation wants us to listen to their voices. The middle path has evolved from our policies.11.07am- Sonia: Secularism is not an election slogan for us, instead it's a belief. 11:06am-Sonia:We have always fought against communal forces. Secularism is our identity and an election compulsion11:05am- Sonia: Manmohan Singh has led the government with prestige and pride for 10 years. The government and the party are strong despite many allegations. Communal forces and thought are a very big danger to our social fabric. Congress's way has always been to connect people.11:03am-Sonia: Politics and differences should be kept aside for the cause of development. Has any government ever done so much ever before. No government has done so much despite an irresponsible opposition and hurdles11:02am - Sonia: Another threat that we are seeing around us is disparity amongst officers on how you know rather than how well you know and to fight this we have brought in a scheme for education, midday meal and scholarship for the weaker sections of the society10:59am- Sonia: Two years ago I had presented a 5-point programme to combat corruption. All Congress states are committed to a strong Lokayukta and Lokpal Bill. We are responsible for the historic RTI act as in transparency lies the solution to fight corruption. Fully operational Aadhaar will end corruption in delivery of subsidies, pensions, wages and government benefits 10:58am: Sonia: In spite of economic growth, disparities are wide spread and cannot be addressed just by rapid growth. Rural wages have increased manifold under MNREGA."10:56am: Sonia: The divisive forces are stretching the social fabric to a breaking point. We have responded to the the key threats that India faced.10:55am: Sonia-"We reflect what we stand for. 2014 battle will be a battle for India, a battle for preserving secular tradition.10:54am: Sonia- This election will be a battle for India as was conceived by our forefathers10:52 am: Sonia Gandhi admonishes delegates saying CWC has already decided about Rahul last evening and there shall be no change in decision 10:51 am: As Sonia Gandhi started her speech, some of the delegates displayed posters demanding Rahul be made PM candidate 10:50am: Sonia Gandhi begins her speech10:46am: Congress leaders pay respect to departed party leaders.10:43am: Arvinder Lovely - We may have lost the assembly elections in Delhi but I can assure you that Congress will make a comeback very soon in Delhi.10:43am: Arvinder Lovely - We may have lost the assembly elections in Delhi but I can assure you that Congress will make a comeback very soon in Delhi.10:35am:Sonia Gandhi enters the venue. She will address the CWC shortly.10:30am: Manishankar Aiyer- Narendra Modi not fit to be PM. We arefighting against BJP and not Modi.09:00am: Each state unit will be given a chance to speak at the session. 08:30am: Posters of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra have adorned the walls outside Talkatora Stadium, where the Congress session is taking place.8:15 am: Delegates start pouring into Talkatora stadium. Huge arrangements made for breakfast and lunch for delegates by caterers.8 am: BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad says, Sonia Gandhi avoiding comparison of Rahul with Narendra Modi, as Rahul does not stand anywhere against Modi.7:30 am: Flag hoisting by Sonia Gandhi at 9:30 am. AICC session starts at 10 am. First, general secretary Janardan Dwivedi will speak to be followed by Sonia Gandhi's introductory remarks. PM is likely to speak at 1 pm. Rahul will speak at around 3 pm, and Sonia will make her concluding speech late in the evening.