Rahul Gandhi [Images], in his maiden speech as a Congress general secretary, continued to depend on the party's political theme of 2004 that dwelled around the aam admi.

Sepaking at the All India Congress Committee meet on Saturday, he said the common man was a national asset.

Rahul, who looked better prepared and composed than he was at the Congress plenary session in Hyderabad, said, "People have different outlooks towards Indians. Even I have one," emphasizing the 'I' which gave his delivery a touch of self-importance.

"When I look at Indians I only look at their Indian identity. To me that is the only relevant thing and not religion or caste. I do see one difference in them. That difference exists in terms of opportunity. In India, on the one side there are people who have opportunity in developing India, on other hand there are people who are unable to participate in India's development.

"This difference is the important ingredient of my political thinking. What is poverty? The rich man without opportunity is a poor man. Those poor, farmers and labourers are working hard but not earning enough. Still, their respect for the country is intact. They are ever ready to sacrifice for a tricolour flag.

"Some people erroneously think it's their generosity when they help them. Poor people are a national asset. We need to connect poor and backward with India's economy."

As expected, it seems that there is no looking back for the latest member of the Gandhi-Nehru family. A section of the audience hailed him as the future prime minister of India.

However, a man touted as the future prime minister of India did not touch any of the current or controversial topic concerning the nation. Instead, in his short speech he talked about general issues.

It looked more like a speech that would appeal to the non-government organisations than the Congressmen who are waiting impatiently to benefit during their party's rule and are looking forward to the future with anxiety.

He said, "Today India is developing fast. We can say with pride that our economy is on solid ground. Our elders had laid the foundation of it. Today, India is surging ahead with the help of youth power."

In the speech which was in English, Rahul spoke about the importance of infrastructure, giving more opportunity to newcomers in the party and the need to connect poor people in mainstream development of India.

Requesting his partymen to have trust in him, Rahul thanked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh [Images] for his inspiration and assured the party that he will fulfill his responsibility with sincerity.