The Hindu : Cong. geared for polls: Sonia

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jul 08, 2003

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Cong. geared for polls: Sonia

By Javed M. Ansari

Shimla July 7. The Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, today virtually sounded the party's election bugle, asserting that it was ready to face the polls anytime. She also called the partymen to be prepared for a vigorous ideological battle against the Sangh Parivar.

"Let me make it absolutely clear here and now that the Congress stands fully prepared, stands ready at anytime, this year or next, to face the elections," she said in the inaugural address at the three-day conclave of the party that began here this morning.

Sounding upbeat, Ms. Gandhi said the time had come for the party to reclaim its position at the helm of affairs. "I am convinced that the people are waiting for an early opportunity, to decisively reject the BJP-led NDA Government. She also sought to provide the rationale for why the people should now vote for the Congress.

Claiming that the BJP's time was up, Ms. Gandhi said the Government had failed on security, defence, social harmony, economic growth, rural development, foreign policy and governance. "The Congress' time has come once again, it must now reclaim its rightful place."

On the issue of national security, Ms. Gandhi said that never before had terrorist strikes been so brazen, while the Government was using the issue to polarise society. She also took the Home Minister to task for failing to come up with his much-promised white paper on Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence. Over the past three years an amount of Rs. 24,000 crores had not been utilised from the defence budgetary allocations.

Ms. Gandhi came down on the BJP and its allied organisations for causing "grievous" damage to the country's secular fabric. Secularism, she said, was an article of faith for the Congress and it was determined to combat the misuse of any religion for purposes of dividing society. She also sought to challenge the Sangh Parivar's interpretation of Hinduism. "Whatever the BJP, VHP, Bajrang Dal preach and propagate has nothing whatsoever to do with Hinduism and liberal Hindu way of life," she said.

She alleged that the economy had taken a severe beating. Charging the NDA Government with weakening the strong economy bequeathed to it by the Congress, she said, "it has failed to provide adequate food and nutrition to vulnerable sections of society, and failed miserably in providing one crore jobs a year."

The Government lacked consistency, conviction and clarity in handling the foreign policy. The national consensus that had sustained the foreign policy was now being eroded, she said. On the party's stand on sending troops to Iraq, she categorically said: "Indian troops must not be deployed". Urging the people to give the Congress yet another chance, Ms. Gandhi said the party was unique in many senses. It was not only the only national party; it was the only one that had a steadfast commitment to secularism.

"Only the Congress could protect all of India from the merchants of hate," she said.

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