New Delhi, Apr 9 (IANS): Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said that despite being born in the centre of power, he has no greed or temptation for it.

The Congress MP was speaking while launching a collection of essays edited by former IAS officer K. Raju at Jawahar Bhawan.

"There are politicians who are constantly in search of power.... I was born in the centre of power but honestly, it does not interest me at all. On the contrary, I try to understand the people and the country. In the process, I came to know that India is the only country in the world where untouchability still exists. We need to break free from this regressive mindset," he said.

Expressing his gratitude for the constant love that he received from the people, Gandhi said: "My country has loved me unconditionally for which I shall be indebted eternally. Definitely, there have been times when I have received brick bats as well which caused immense pain but deep within I know that my country wants to teach me, so I try to understand it."

On people being targetted only because they belong to a particular caste or creed he said: "I have also seen times when mobs assaulted innocent people like animals with sticks and batons simply because they belonged to a different caste or religion. This is happening only with Dalits in the country."

K. Raju in his new book "The Dalit Truth: The Battle for Realizing Ambedkar's Vision" has attempted to depict the Dalit voice. It depicts their fight against the mob of Dalit truth and the lies perpetrated by the caste system.

This is the eighth volume of Penguin Random House India's 'Rethinking India' series.

K. Raju, who is also the National Coordinator of Congress's SC, ST, OBC and All India Minority Departments, said: "This book is a companion for the truth seeker who seeks to demolish the caste architecture that engenders inequality and discrimination in society, maintains it."