The Hindu : Sonia a true Indian, says Mulayam

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jun 17, 2003

National

National

Sonia a true Indian, says Mulayam

Etawah June 16 . Disagreeing with those calling the Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, a foreigner, the Samajwadi Party chief, Mulayam Singh Yadav, says she is a true Indian who has imbibed the spirit of the country's culture in totality.

It was wrong to call Ms. Sonia a foreigner now as she had learnt the ethos of the Indian culture, he told PTI here on Sunday. By raking up her foreign nationality, the BJP had shown that it was "bereft of ideas".

It was likely that the saffron party might contest the next Lok Sabha elections on "Indian vs foreigner" issue.

He said the BJP was yet to decide as to who would lead it in the next elections — the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, or the Deputy Prime Minister, L.K. Advani.

Criticising the Vajpayee Government's foreign policy, Mr. Yadav alleged that Mr. Advani gave a statement in Washington "under U.S. pressure" that India would send its troops to Iraq. He said Mr. Vajpayee's efforts to arrive at a consensus on Iraq were all "drama".

"When Mr. Advani has already announced that Indian forces will go to Iraq, why does the NDA Government want all political parties to sign on the dotted line," Mr. Yadav said.

PTI

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