Front Page

Ready for polls: Sonia

By Javed M. Ansari

The Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, at a press conference in Guwahati on Saturday. — AFP

Guwahati April 13. The Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, continued her offensive against the Bharatiya Janata Party, saying that the inherent contradictions between the BJP and the NDA allies would ultimately lead to the "downfall of the Vajpayee Government." The Congress was prepared for elections whenever they were held. "It is for the Government to decide when the polls will be held, but we are ready for them whenever they take place.''

Addressing a full-fledged press conference for the second time since she took over, Ms. Gandhi said the inner dynamics within the ruling coalition were at its worst.'' If this is how they are going to conduct themselves, nobody knows where they will end up,'' she said.

Though Ms. Gandhi made it clear that the Congress would do nothing to precipitate the Government's fall, she said her party was prepared to do whatever was required of it. It was willing to talk to other secular parties and the allies when the situation demanded. "There is no harm in talking, I am prepared to talk to everybody.''

Ms. Gandhi was upbeat about her party's prospects, and said there was a feel-good factor about it throughout the country. "Wherever I go, people refer with nostalgia about Congress Government and talk of the return of the good old days. They believe that the Congress is the only party that can give them a good Government,'' she said.

Ms. Gandhi, however, admitted that in some States such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West bengal and Tamil Nadu, her party was weak and needed to work hard to regain lost ground.

Ms. Gandhi, however, did not to commit herself to forming a secular front or the idea of a coalition government. "We will discuss the issue when the situation arises, there is no point in talking about it right now... The greatest challenge before the nation is the attack on secularism, we are always willing to work with like minded parties on the issue.''

Ms. Gandhi came to the press conference straight from the Kamakhaya temple, dressed in a traditional Assamese meklha mekhla saree. She continued her aggressive vein against the BJP saying that "its mask had slipped," revealing the real communal face of the party. "Their mask is pretty well gone now, and they stand thoroughly, thoroughly exposed,'' said Ms. Gandhi.

Evidence that the Congress anticipates a no-holds-barred attack from the BJP was available in the manner in which she dismissed the Prime Ministers' challenge to bring down his Government. "Jab dimagi santulan kho jaata hai (whenever he loses his mental balance he reacts like this),'' she said.

Though the Chief Ministers' conclave did not take a formal decision on whether the Congress-ruled State Governments would use the controversial POTA, Ms. Gandhi did indicate that the general view was that there were enough laws to deal with the law and order problems. "The fact is that it has been passed by parliament and has become a law, but our Chief Ministers feel that there are enough laws both at the Centre and in the States to tackle the problem of terrorism and other law and order problems.

Ms. Gandhi reiterated her party's stand on the extradition of the LTTE chief, Prabakaran. She said he stood accused of the assassination of her husband and should be extradited to face trial in India.

UNI, PTI report:

Handling the questions in a business-like fashion with crisp replies, Ms. Gandhi ruled out a major reshuffle in the AICC and said this was a wrong perception and minor changes were going on. Ms. Gandhi indicated that the Congress-ruled States would not implement the ``draconian'' Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) that it opposed tooth and nail in Parliament.

``There were strong feelings at the Chief Ministers' meeting here that the existing laws at the Centre and in the States are adequate to deal with the law and order problem,'' she said.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Front Page

News: Front Page | National | Southern States | Other States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary |

Stories in this Section

• BJP recommends rollback of harsh budget proposals
• Ready for polls: Sonia
• Amendment to ensure funds for panchayati raj
• TDP to withdraw support?
• No need to be apologetic: Advani
• B.N. Kirpal, next CJ
• More killings in Nepal

Copyright © 2002, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu