The Hindu : Youth need jobs not weapons, says Sonia

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, May 14, 2003

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National

Youth need jobs not weapons, says Sonia

By Sunny Sebastian

BHILWARA MAY 13. The Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, today made a spirited defence of secularism to say that "real patriots'' are those who work for unity of the communities and integrity of the nation. "The biggest identification of the nationalists is the efforts they make to preserve the social harmony,'' she said imploring the people to rise above considerations of caste and religion to take the nation ahead on the path of progress.

Addressing a farmers' rally at the Pratap Nagar School grounds here, the first ever since the controversy over the ban on "trishul dikshas'' in Rajasthan broke out, Ms. Gandhi said that arming people with tridents and swords would not mitigate the problems. It would only add on to their woes. She also made a reference to the Union Finance Minister for decisions which went against farmers' interests.

``Our children now need pens and textbooks, not tridents and swords. The youth need employment not weapons. Our sisters need safety not terror. We want the faces of our elders to light up with smiles in the evening of their lives and not with tension,'' Ms. Gandhi said.

The meeting, which had a big presence of women, was addressed by the Chief Minister, Ashok Gehlot, the PCC(I) president, Girija Vyas, the local leaders, the Deputy Speaker of the Rajasthan Assembly, Devendra Singh, and the Rajya Sabha member, Santosh Bagdoria.

``I am aware that you are facing difficulties because of the severe drought and the non-cooperation of the Centre in providing relief,'' Ms. Gandhi told the people, who sat in the sweltering heat of the Mewar region. She tried to empathise with the drought-hit, the farmers and women.

``The Centre is not providing assistance to the extent it should have. Of late, it has started waking up to the problem a little bit. As mentioned by the Chief Minister, it even released the remaining wheat for relief on the eve of my visit,'' Ms. Gandhi said. ``The NDA leaders should not confine themselves to making humane statements. They should convert their sympathetic thoughts into action,'' she said. Ms. Gandhi charged the NDA Government for programmes and policies which were leading to inflation, unemployment and low productivity.

The farmers in the country did an excellent job in making the nation self-sufficient in food production. "But what will they do now ? Their produce is not fetching remunerative prices. The sugar cane farmers in Uttar Pradesh are committing suicide. The life of the farmer is in crisis now,'' she said.

``They spoke of mitigating "bhay, bhook aur brashtachar" but never kept their promise. How can they go back to people without fulfilling their election promises,'' Ms. Gandhi asked referring to the NDA Government. With the Congress ruled States, the case was different, she said. "I hold regular meetings of the Chief Ministers to find out about the fulfilment of the promises.''

``The Government in Rajasthan has done much work. But I tell Mr. Gehlot and his colleagues not to feel complacent. We should try to see from the viewpoint of the people to understand the problems better,'' Ms. Gandhi said.

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