The Hindu : We have no faith in BJP's vision, says Sonia

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Apr 03, 2004

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National

We have no faith in BJP's vision, says Sonia

By Arunkumar Bhatt

SOLAPUR (MAHARASHTRA), APRIL 2. The Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, today reacted sharply to the remarks of the Gujarat Chief Minister, Narendra Modi, that she and her son, Rahul Gandhi, were found "unfit" even for a clerk's or a driver's job in a "survey."

Addressing a hurriedly-called press conference at the airport here, Ms. Gandhi said the Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, delivered "big lectures" about maintaining decency in the election campaigns but his partymen did just the opposite. "But the more they do this, the more it helps us.''

Asked about the BJP's stepped-up campaign against her Italian origin, Ms. Gandhi said this showed that they had no issues and did not want to talk about the problems and sufferings of the people. "But let them go ahead with it. They ran such campaigns against Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. But the people's love and affection for them only grew. Even today the people have so much love for Indiraji. They cannot remove it."

Asked about the foreign origin issue not figuring in the election manifesto of Sharad Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party, she said this was a great achievement for her.

About the Vision Document of the BJP, she said the ruling party had released a similar one five years ego but it "lacked vision" and did not deliver and so "we have no faith in their vision for the next five years."

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