Sunday, Aug 17, 2003
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By Our Special Correspondent
As the principal Opposition party, the Congress is clear that the use of the ultimate weapon in its armoury is aimed at exposing the all-round "failures" of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance Government. The party emphasised that the exercise was not a "game of numbers" but intended to convey the people's anguish and anxiety over the manner in which the Government had been functioning. "In a democracy, no-confidence is the last weapon before the Opposition parties to expose the Government and its failures," the party's chief spokesperson, S. Jaipal Reddy, said. Ms. Gandhi is likely to meet the leaders of like-minded Opposition parties on Monday to fine-tune the strategy. The party has not yet resolved the issue of boycott of the Defence Minister, George Fernandes. It was indicated that the issue could figure in the meeting of the Opposition parties and decided on the floor of the House. The Opposition has been boycotting Mr. Fernandes for over 18 months and the Government plans to field him as a speaker from its ranks. The Congress Chief Whip, Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi, later said that the Government had been a total failure and the Congress would point these out during the debate. Issues related to internal security, financial mismanagement, plight of the farmers and farm sector, the foreign policy and defence preparedness would be focussed. Asked whether the Congress would utilise the opportunity to launch its election campaign, Mr. Dasmunshi retorted that each and every word of the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee's Independence Day speech was election-oriented. Those who attended the meeting at Ms. Gandhi's residence included the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Manmohan Singh, the Congress Deputy Leader in the Lok Sabha, Shivraj Patil, and senior leaders Ahmed Patel, Ambika Soni, Buta Singh, Mr. Dasmunshi and Mr. Jaipal Reddy.
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