Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday addressed industry body FICCI in New Delhi and said that the biggest issue today is corruption and it is bleeding people and is unacceptable.

Rahul said, “High inflation is our immediate concern; it hurts people every day; beating inflation is our priority”.

He further said the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government has faced a lot of criticism, “but it has done more to combat corruption than any other government”.

The Congress vice president said controlling spiralling inflation and fighting poverty were the two main challenges facing the government today.

“Poverty cannot be fought without growth. In 10 years, almost a third of Indian population has risen out of poverty,” he said.

Mr Gandhi also said the regulatory system in the country needs to be overhauled.

He spoke on the government’s flagship employment guarantee scheme (MNREGA), the Food Security law, and the land acquisition law. We need to build a robust real estate market so businesses have access to land”.